Tourney Nights
by Thanos6
Summary: Another in the \'Royalty Series.\' The 26th Tenka\'ichi Budokai! This chapter--The conclusion to this story...and to the first era of the Royalty Series!
1. The Decision At Breakfast

Tourney Nights  
  
Hello. This is the third in my "Royalty" series of Dragon Ball humor fanfics. The first one is "Saiyans on the Road." The second is "Time Passages." It is HIGHLY recommended that you read those before reading this, if you have not already done so.  
  
Here is a quick timeline as to the progression of the series to date--  
  
Buu is destroyed.  
"Saiyans on the Road" begins--Two years after Buu's destruction. Lasts 180 days.  
"Time Passages" begins--The morning after "Saiyans on the Road" ends. Lasts approximately four months.  
"Tourney Nights" begins--The morning after "Time Passages" ends.  
  
Disclaimer--I do not own Dragon Ball or any related concepts. If I did, this wouldn't be fanfiction but would be published in bookstores.  
  
***  
  
As per tradition, the King of the Saiyans awoke when, also as per tradition, the Queen of the Saiyans got out of bed to make breakfast for the inhabitants of Capsule Corporation.  
  
As Vegeta lay there, listening to Bulma's footsteps head in the direction of the kitchen--making a small detour to get their young daughter Bra--his mind replayed the events of the previous day. Gohan, Kakarot's son, had gotten married to his girlfriend, Videl, daughter of that bumbling idiot Mr. Satan. They had flown off to enjoy their 'honeymoon,' managing to escape a rather personal question from Chi-Chi, Gohan's mother.  
  
He stayed in bed, listening as the various inhabitants of Capsule Corp. walked by the room. As a trained Saiyan warrior, he could distinguish the footfalls of each individual.  
  
First were the lithe, cat-like footsteps of a man who tried to make as little noise as possible out of unconscious habit, in case he was discovered. That would be Mirai, an older alternate reality version of Vegeta's son Trunks.  
  
After that were the large, booming footsteps of someone who walked where he pleased because he was big. That would be Broli, the Legendary Super Saiyan who hailed from an alternate timeline as well--although from a different one than Mirai.  
  
There was a minute or so of silence. Then came the slow, hesitating footsteps of someone who thought he might be lost. That would be Turles, a quite intelligent Saiyan--although cursed with a horrible sense of direction--who had been Broli's companion in their alternate timeline.  
  
Next were two sets of footsteps walking in tandem. That would be Yamcha and Maron, who had moved in when their apartment had been razed in order to provide room for a strip mall. And though she made no noise, Vegeta knew that Yamcha's constant companion, the flying shape-shifting cat Pu'ar, was also there.  
  
A small break in the action, then two sets of very soft footsteps. That would be Bulma's parents, Dr. Briefs--President of Capsule Corporation--and Mrs. Briefs--Dr. Briefs' eternally optimistic wife. In all the years he had lived at Capsule Corp., Vegeta had yet to learn their real names.  
  
Now there was a quick rush of thunderous footsteps. That would be Vegeta and Bulma's son Trunks, one of the most powerful children on the planet, if not THE most.  
  
Once more, there was a silence, but this was a silence with a potential to have noise at anytime; as a warrior, Vegeta could distinguish between even different kinds of quiet. This kind of quiet implied that the Saiyan known as Raditz was floating gently through the air, carrying his pregnant human mate Iroke.  
  
After that came more thunderous steps. These were slightly less thunderous, however, meaning they belonged to the burly and none-too-bright Saiyan warrior Nappa.  
  
There was another silence. This was the kind of empty silence that suggested it was time for Vegeta to get himself to breakfast; as King of the Saiyans, court etiquette demanded that he arrive last.   
  
It was one of the few uses Saiyans had for etiquette.  
  
Vegeta's footsteps sounded like the kind produced by someone who may not actually be killing you now but could do it whenever he wished, if he so felt like it, so you'd damn well better stay out of his way.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta had barely sat down at the table when he was hit in the face by the newspaper. He shot Bulma a nasty look.  
  
"Look on page 13," she said, ignoring the glare.  
  
He flipped to page 13. Normally he read the newspaper in the mornings so that he could get his complaining about the humans out of the way for the day. He wondered what it was that Bulma could actually think would interest him.  
  
His eyes darted around the page in less time than it takes to describe. He soon saw what it was the woman wanted him to see. It was an advertisement, in the bottom right corner of the page.  
  
"THE 26TH TENKA'ICHI BUDOKAI! TO BE HELD MAY 7TH!"  
  
His eyebrows lifted. He had competed in the 25th Budokai, but during the middle of it the battle against Babidi had begun.  
  
"I never did get to show the world my great power...this would be an unrivalled chance," he said to himself. Bulma rolled her eyes.  
  
"Wow! You're gonna fight?" asked Trunks anxiously.  
  
"Yes, I believe I shall."  
  
"Cool! I'm gonna enter too!"  
  
Vegeta smirked. The advertisement made no mention of whether or not there would be a Junior Division this time. If there was, then the final round would surely be Trunks vs. Goten once again. If not, he stood a good chance at getting a spot in the top 16 finalists.  
  
"I think I'll enter, also," said Mirai. "I've been getting restless lately."  
  
Raditz, Nappa, and Turles simply shook their heads. They would all be outclassed, and they knew it.  
  
"Perhaps I may sign up for this competition. It sounds very exciting," said Broli. The others sighed. It was hard adjusting to a sane Broli, who turned out to be quite well-mannered. For a Saiyan, that is.  
  
Yamcha laughed bitterly. "Hell no! I'd just get the hell beaten out of me if I entered. I'll just be a spectator like last time."  
  
Vegeta began to count in his head.  
  
*Let's see...presuming no Junior Division...myself, Trunks, Mirai, and Broli...Kakarot and his youngest, Goten, no doubt will enter...Gohan would still be on that 'honeymoon' of his, he can't enter...that idiot Mr. Satan will automatically be in because he's the champion...his idiot friend Mr. Buu will be in as well...the Namek will probably enter...the robot woman probably will...*  
  
That was 10 contestants he knew would make it to the finals. The other 6 would probably be weak humans who didn't know what they were in for.  
  
Vegeta grinned that nasty grin of his. This would be fun. 


	2. The Drawing Of Sixteen

"So, Raditz," asked Yamcha after breakfast, "Why didn't you decide to enter the Budokai? You ARE a Super Saiyan."  
  
"True, but I'm a relatively weak one. King Vegeta, his sons, and Broli all outclass me. And from what I've been hearing, so do the Namek and the robot woman. I really don't have much of a choice, and I don't want to get humiliated."  
  
***  
  
To return to the useful old cliche...time passed.  
  
6 days passed. May 7th had come.  
  
***  
  
The various contestants and their families assembled at the Budokai. Like last time, they agreed not to go Super Saiyan. Vegeta personally couldn't see what the big deal would be if they were recognized from the Cell Games, but a look from Bulma was all it took to convince him to agree that it was bad.  
  
As the families waved goodbye and went to their seats, Vegeta saw that he had been accurate in his predictions of who would fight. He, naturally, would fight, as would Mirai, Trunks, and Broli. There was Kakarot and Goten. He could see Mr. Buu and Juhachigou, and there was Piccolo alone in a corner. There were also approximately two hundred humans.  
  
As it turned out, there was no Junior Division. Trunks and Goten were ecstatic at the fact that they could fight adults without having to disguise themselves.  
  
While everyone was waiting for the eliminations to begin, they were soon approached by a very familiar figure, one with blonde hair and sunglasses.  
  
"Hey! It's you guys!"  
  
The Budokai Announcer strode over, a grin on his face. "With all you guys competing again, this should be an interesting tournament indeed!"  
  
He turned to Broli. "Haven't seen you before, though. What's your name?"  
  
"A pleasure to meet you, fine sir. My name is Broli, I'm a friend of theirs."  
  
"I see." He turned to Mirai. "And you look like you could be Trunks's older brother."  
  
"Funny you say that. I am, actually." Everyone had agreed that this would pass for a cover story.  
  
"Ah. You must be a great fighter, then."  
  
"I like to think so. I haven't competed before, I've been living...too far away."  
  
"I see."  
  
Somewhere in the distance, a huge gong rang.  
  
"That's the signal for the eliminations to begin! I've got to run. Good luck, not that you need it!"  
  
***  
  
Far away...  
  
Gohan and his wife of a week, Videl, lay together in the bed in their honeymoon suite, television turned on. Today they were going to take a break from the usual "action" and watch the Tenka'ichi Budokai.  
  
"Well, this should be interesting," he said. "I must admit I'm looking forward to seeing how this Broli character fights."  
  
"I hope Dad doesn't win again," Videl muttered, drawing her husband closer to her. "Someone needs to put him in his place."  
  
***  
  
At the 25th Budokai, punch machines that measured strength had been used to determine the finalists. However, after several malfunctions which measured seemingly impossible scores, the decision had been made to retire the machines. Instead, eliminations were once again determined through the traditional practice of the contestants fighting one another until there were 15 left; Mr. Satan, as the champion, got an automatic spot.  
  
The eliminations did not take long.  
  
***  
  
"Attention, everyone!" said the Budokai Announcer over the speaker system. "I have here the names of the 15 finalists who have qualified from the eliminations! And they are--Son Goku! Vegeta Briefs! Son Goten! Trunks Briefs! Mirai Briefs! Broli! Mr. Buu! Juuhachigou! Ma Junior! Hokorashii! Jinsoku! Kasabaru! Soumei! Karyuudo! And Magai! These 15, along with Mr. Satan, will now be drawing numbers to determine the order of their fights!"  
  
The Budokai Announcer led the 16 into a back room.  
  
***  
  
"When I call your name," he said, "please step forward, reach into this bag, and draw forth your number! Broli!"  
  
The huge Saiyan stepped forward, reached into the bag, and drew out a number.  
  
"Two."  
  
"Mirai Briefs!"  
  
"Eleven."  
  
"Trunks Briefs!"  
  
"Twelve."  
  
This caused some murmurs, and Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. His sons would square off in the very first round.  
  
"Vegeta Briefs!"  
  
He walked forward.  
  
"Nine."  
  
"Mr. Buu!"  
  
"Thirteen."  
  
"Hokorashii!"  
  
"Seven."  
  
"Jinsoku!"  
  
"Fourteen."  
  
"Juuhachigou!"  
  
"Fifteen."  
  
"Karyuudo!"  
  
"Sixteen."  
  
"Kasabaru!"  
  
"Eight."  
  
"Magai!"  
  
"Six."  
  
"Ma Junior!"  
  
Piccolo, under his assumed name, stepped forth.  
  
"Three."  
  
"Mr. Satan!"  
  
"Five."  
  
"Son Goku!"  
  
"One."  
  
"Son Goten!"  
  
"Ten."  
  
"Soumei!"  
  
"Four."  
  
The Budokai Announcer nodded. He then motioned for the fighters to follow him.  
  
***  
  
They returned to the arena, where the Budokai Announcer returned to his microphone.  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen! The first set of matches have been decided! Round one: Son Goku vs. Broli! Round two: Ma Junior vs. Soumei! Round three: Mr. Satan vs. Magai! Round four: Hokorashii vs. Kasabaru! Round five: Vegeta Briefs vs. Son Goten! Round six: Mirai Briefs vs. Trunks Briefs! Round seven: Mr. Buu vs. Jinsoku! And round eight: Juuhachigou vs. Karyuudo!"  
  
After taking one last glance at the assembled fighters, he continued.  
  
"Now let the 26th Tenka'ichi Budokai....BEGIN!" 


	3. Round One: The First Match: Son Goku v...

Amid the cheers, the Budokai Announcer led Goku and Broli into the ring.  
  
"Let me explain the rules. There is to be no attacking the eyes or the vulnerables! You lose if you forfeit, fall out of the ring, or are down for a count of 10. No killing of opponents!"  
  
The Budokai Announcer stepped out of the ring.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta leaned forward. This should be interesting.  
  
***  
  
"Son Goku has been a veteran of these tournaments for many years, reaching the final rounds in the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, even becoming champion of the last! Broli, meanwhile, is new this year! Let's see how he can do! BEGIN!"  
  
Zip.  
  
The two combatants had disappeared. Well, they had disappeared to the regular human eye, at any rate.  
  
They charged at one another. Broli lunged forward with his right arm. Goku ducked under it, and scythed Broli's legs out from under him using a scissor kick. The larger man hit the ground, but quickly rolled away and hopped to his feet.  
  
***  
  
In the stands, Kuririn turned to Yamcha.  
  
"Now do you see why I chose not to enter this year?"  
  
***  
  
Now the two Saiyans had engaged in a close-up flurry of blows. Goku's last punch to Broli's head had missed by centimeters, allowing Broli the chance to knee him in the stomach. In order to buy himself the time he needed to regain his breath, he aimed a double kick at the other's chest, doing little damage but knocking him back a bit.  
  
The vast majority of the audience was unable to follow the fight, but the Budokai Announcer--who over the years had learned his lesson and had received training that allowed him to watch such superspeed fights--was yelling out a blow-by-blow account of the action to the crowd, who were cheering madly.  
  
The two combatants each connected with one powerful punch, sending them flying back, each one of them righting themselves in opposite corners, staring at each other, breathing hard.  
  
And grinning.  
  
***  
  
*Excellent,* thought Vegeta. *They're fighting like true Saiyans.*  
  
***  
  
Gohan whistled. He was impressed.  
  
"Now this is a fight," said Videl.  
  
***  
  
Wiping some blood off of his face, Goku suddenly charged at Broli. At the last second before he hit, however, he jumped over the larger Saiyan, turned around, and crashed into him from behind, sending him hurtling across the ring. In the middle of his somersault course, Broli shot one hand down, planting it in the floor of the ring and preventing him from continuing on.  
  
Anticipating his opponent's next move, he propelled himself into the air as Goku ran towards the place where he had been. He then plummeted earthwards, landing right on top of Goku, pinning him.  
  
"One!" shouted the Budokai Announcer.  
  
"I really do suggest you forfeit," said Broli. "There is no way for you to escape this."  
  
"Two!"  
  
"Don't be so sure about that," said Goku inbetween ragged breaths.  
  
"Three!"  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Four!"  
  
Struggling, Goku tried to move his arm.  
  
"Five!"  
  
Centimeter by centimeter, he brought his fingers closer to their desired goal.  
  
"Six!"  
  
"Almost..." he muttered to himself.  
  
"Seven!"  
  
"Just a bit more..."  
  
"Eight!"  
  
"There!" His fingers had touched his forehead.  
  
"Ni--huh?"  
  
Broli suddenly found himself sitting on nothing but the floor of the ring; Goku had vanished.  
  
"Where did he go?"  
  
"I'm over here!"  
  
Broli whirled around to see Goku waving at him from the other side of the ring. Growling, Broli charged, only to have Goku suddenly react and kick him in the jaw, interrupting his charge and throwing him flat on his back.  
  
Goku lunged, his leg extended, but Broli grabbed the limb and threw Goku over his head. However, the shorter man was able to quickly halt his trajectory by wrapping his legs around his opponent's chest and flipping him.  
  
***  
  
Raditz, Nappa, and Turles blinked. Even they had had a hard time keeping up with the sudden double-exchange of positions.  
  
***  
  
Broli rose to his feet.  
  
"Do you give up?" asked Goku.  
  
Broli grinned. "Of course not." 


	4. Round One: The First Match: Son Goku v...

And then they were back at it, attacking, parrying each other's blows, all in such fast motion that the Budokai Announcer was having a bit of trouble keeping up.  
  
"Goku--no, wait, Broli kicks, and Goku blocks, he's already counterattacking, wait, Broli already blocked it--"  
  
***  
  
The crowd watched, openmouthed. This would be a fight to remember.  
  
***  
  
The sidelines.  
  
The production manager was adrift in his own little dreamland, trying to envision how many zeni he would make from the selling of the tapes of this Budokai.  
  
*If the rest of the fights are as good as these, I can retire.*  
  
He lovingly patted one of the new-fangled cameras that had been developed since the Cell Games.  
  
***  
  
As if the fight wasn't interesting enough, the two warriors soon decided to add another dimension to it.  
  
The third.  
  
Their battle had now taken them into the air.  
  
To the Budokai Announcer, and to the others capable of watching it, it was a beautiful aerial ballet.  
  
To Goku and Broli, it was a knock-down, drag-out, bloody fight to the last Saiyan standing.  
  
***  
  
Broli performed a somersault kick in mid-air. Goku dodged it, zipped behind Broli, and grabbed him in a chokehold. He made sure that his arms crossed his those of his opponent, and used his legs to prevent Broli's legs from being able to move.  
  
Goku had him. It wouldn't be too much longer now, before Broli would run out of air and pass out. Then he noticed something.  
  
Broli had opened his palms. Suddenly, a ring of green energy appeared in each hand. A moment later, they had turned into green energy spheres.  
  
Boom.  
  
Broli had detonated them in his hands. The resulting shockwave had loosened Goku's grip just enough for the other Saiyan to break free, grab his head, and rush to the ground.  
  
***  
  
Goten grimaced. "C'mon Dad! You can do it!"  
  
***  
  
Gohan sat up.  
  
***  
  
Broli approached the ground, a grin on his face. He would slam his opponent into the ground, knocking him out.  
  
When he felt something in his mid-section.  
  
He swivelled his head just in time to see Goku thrust out his legs into Broli's stomach. The resulting leverage was enough to tip the two of them over.  
  
Which meant that instead of *Goku* hitting the ground--  
  
Smack.  
  
Broli slammed into the ring, hard, as Goku freed himself from his grip, flipped in midair several times, and landed on his feet a yard or so away.  
  
***  
  
"Woo-hoo!" yelled Goten happily. "I knew you could do it!"  
  
***  
  
Gohan breathed a sigh of relief, and settled back down. Videl rubbed her hands, as if she was eager for something.  
  
"You OK?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Fine, honey," she said with a rather Vegeta-like grin on her face. "I just want to see my father-in-law beat up your father-in-law." They chuckled.  
  
***  
  
"One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight! Nine! Ten! Broli is counted out...winner, SON GOKU!"  
  
The stadium filled with applause and cheers.  
  
***  
  
*Not bad, Kakarot, not bad,* thought Vegeta. *But you have not yet fought the King.* He smirked.  
  
***  
  
"Well," said the Budokai Announcer, "Wasn't that a great fight! We'll be taking a five minute break to clean off the ring, then the next fight can begin!"  
  
Broli stumbled to his feet to see Goku extend a helping hand. He shook his head, and continued by himself.  
  
"That was one heck of a fight. You almost had me there at the end," said Goku, following alongside.  
  
"Thank you, old chap, but almost was not enough. You showed yourself to be the superior fighter--this time. Next time the outcome will be different."  
  
Goku simply grinned. 


	5. Round One: The Second Match: Ma Junior...

Once the ring had been swept clear of debris, the Budokai Announcer picked up his microphone.  
  
"All right, let's continue! Our second match is between Ma Junior and Soumei!" He led them to the ring.  
  
Piccolo--that is, Ma Junior--was, as he almost always was, unreadable. Soumei--a young thin man--looked very calm.  
  
"Ma Junior participated in both the 23rd and 25th Budokais, going as far as the final round in the 23rd! Soumei has taken part in the eliminations for several past Budokais, but this is the first time he has qualified. How will these two fare against one another? We're about to find out! BEGIN!"  
  
Piccolo did not move. Very cautiously, Soumei approached, studying the Namek for any signs of a forthcoming attack.  
  
Piccolo did not move. Watching for some kind of defense, Soumei aimed a kick at his head.  
  
Woosh.  
  
At the last possible moment, Piccolo moved his head out of the way of Soumei's foot, then snapped it back into position. Not once did his eyes open.  
  
Undaunted, Soumei aimed a punch.  
  
Woosh.  
  
A bit angry now, Soumei kicked straight at Piccolo's midsection.  
  
Suddenly Piccolo was not there anymore.  
  
Whirling around, Soumei saw him standing at the opposite end of the ring. He realized just how out of his league he was.  
  
"I forfeit," he yelled out.  
  
"Soumei has given up...winner, MA JUNIOR!" yelled the Budokai Announcer.  
  
***  
  
Piccolo walked out of the ring, arms still folded, never once having opened his eyes.  
  
***  
  
Gohan grinned, and shook his head. "That's Piccolo for you. Only he could intimidate an opponent into surrendering by the way he dodges."  
  
***  
  
Soumei went back to the locker room. He changed into his normal street clothes. He decided he would return to the stands to watch the rest of the fights.  
  
On his way out, he was ambushed by a reporter and cameraman.  
  
"Mr. Soumei, could you tell us why you surrendered so easily to Ma Junior?"  
  
A bit annoyed, he responded, "He's out of my league. I don't try and fight when the cause is hopeless. Now get out of my way, I need to get to my seat." 


	6. Round One: The Third Match: Mr. Satan ...

"Now for the next match!" shouted the Budokai Announcer. "This fighter is one of the best in the world! He's won two championships and has saved the world! Your hero and mine...MR. SATAN!"  
  
As the preening phony stepped into the ring, the man with the microphone sighed, and shook his head. He hated acting as Mr. Satan's free publicity man.  
  
"Opposing him in the first round today will be Magai! This is Magai's first time in the Budokai at all!"  
  
Magai entered the ring. He was a man of average height and build, with a look of cocky self-confidence on his face.  
  
***  
  
"C'mon Magai!" shouted Videl. "Take him out!"  
  
From his position next to her, Gohan couldn't help but chuckle.  
  
***  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Mr. Satan and Magai both dropped into fighting stances.  
  
***  
  
"This is going to be pretty damn boring," said Yamcha, rising from his seat. "I'm gonna get something to eat." He turned towards Bardock, Nappa, Raditz, and Turles. "Want me to pick you guys up anything?"  
  
He really shouldn't have asked.  
  
***  
  
Magai lunged at Satan, who blocked his kick with his forearm. Magai then attempted to punch him in the face, but he just slid out of the way.  
  
***  
  
The Budokai Announcer couldn't believe it. Either his senses were deceiving him, or this Magai was actually less competent in the martial arts than Mr. Satan.  
  
***  
  
Videl, having reached the same conclusion, folded her arms and let out a small "hmph."  
  
"Did I ever tell you how much you can resemble my mother?" Gohan said bemusedly, fingering her hair.  
  
"Don't even joke about that!"  
  
***  
  
"...Nine...TEN! Magai is out! Winner, MR. SATAN!"  
  
Yamcha moved his head around the ridiculously large stack of food he was carrying just in time to see Mr. Satan give the crowd an "OK" sign.  
  
"It stinks," Yamcha muttered to himself as he reached his seat. He distributed the food out to the four Saiyans.  
  
Damn Saiyan appetites. His wallet was much lighter than it had been five minutes ago. 


	7. Round One: The Fourth Match: Hokorashi...

The King of the Saiyans tapped his foot impatiently. The last two matches had been boring, and the one about to commence looked to be no different.  
  
He tried to calm himself with the knowledge that the fight after this one would be a very interesting battle between his sons.  
  
Of course, Saiyans are not the easiest beings in existence to calm.  
  
Especially not this one.  
  
***  
  
"Time for the fourth fight of the first round!" said the Budokai Announcer. "Hokorashii hails from the Western Capitol, while Kasabaru comes from the Northern Capitol! This is the first time either of them has made it into the finals!"  
  
The two opponents climbed into the ring. Hokorashii, a thin man, walked with a measured care that suggested a belief that it would be impossible to lose. Kasabaru, meanwhile, was a very large, fat man.  
  
***  
  
Soumei, from his seat in the stands, sighed to himself. He had been a fighter for a long time, and had gotten to know many others. And Hokorashii was one of the best. Kasabaru would be hard-pressed to win.  
  
*And that,* he thought, *is a real shame.* Hokorashii was annoyingly self-assured and Soumei would not in the least mind to see him lose. Kasabaru, meanwhile, had confided in Soumei before the match that he was entering--much like Namu from the 21st Budokai--in order to win the prize money and help his family. In reality, he was one of the "gentle giants."  
  
*Well, friend, you can't be gentle now. Not if you want that money.*  
  
***  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Kasabaru lunged straight for the smaller man, hoping to end the fight quickly. Hokorashii spoiled his plans by somersaulting right over his head. Kasabaru, meanwhile, had built up a lot of momentum, and it was all he could do to stop himself before he ran out of the ring.  
  
He turned around to see his opponent chuckling nastily.  
  
"Why not just surrender now and save us all the time?"  
  
"Never! I'll never surrender, not while I can win the money and take care of those I love!"  
  
"Well then, those you love had better start looking for another means of financial security, hadn't they?"  
  
The large man growled.  
  
"Yes, get angry, fatso! It won't help you!"  
  
Now Hokorashii went on the offensive, aiming a kick at his opponent's head, which the other man managed to dodge just in time.  
  
"Pretty damn agile for your size, I see. But you can't dodge--THIS!"  
  
In a flash, he had gotten to the backside of Kasabaru. He reached up and squeezed an area of his neck. Suddenly Kasabaru seemed to be paralyzed.  
  
"That," said Hokorashii, "is my secret technique. Don't worry, it'll wear off in a few minutes. But it won't make a difference! I will win!"  
  
Now the man began to engage in a bout of full-fledged maniacal laughter, during the course of which, he failed to notice a very important thing.  
  
Kasabaru had begun to fall. Right on top of him.  
  
His laughter stopped as they slammed into the ring floor, Kasabaru's great bulk pinning Hokorashii.  
  
***  
  
Now it was Soumei's turn to laugh.  
  
***  
  
"NINE...TEN! Hokorashii is out....winner, KASABARU!"  
  
The Budokai Announcer hopped into the ring, rolling the larger man off of the other. A very mad looking Hokorashii leapt to his feet and stormed out of the stadium. Meanwhile, the Announcer helped the recovering Kasabaru to his feet.  
  
"Congratulations on your win! Do you attribute your victory to your opponent's overconfidence?"  
  
Kasabaru smiled. "That, and the large plate of cookies I had on the way here." 


	8. Round One: The Fifth Match: Vegeta Bri...

As Kasabaru returned to the ringside, the Budokai Announcer began to speak.   
  
"OK! Let the next match begin!" he said. "Vegeta Briefs vs. Son Goten! Vegeta entered the last Budokai, but due to the odd circumstances was never able to fight in it! Goten, as you'll recall, put up a spectacular final round bout in the Junior Division last year. Not only was Trunks, the one who beat him, his best friend, he is also the son of Vegeta! This should be a very interesting match!"  
  
The two of them walked into the ring. Vegeta displayed a slight hint of smugness, while Goten looked very nervous.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Vegeta charged forward and threw a punch at Goten's head. The boy instantly recovered from his nervousness and blocked it with his arm, then aimed a kick at the older man's shin, which he was able to avoid by taking a small hop backwards.  
  
***  
  
"OK Goten, keep your head and make him mad and you might be able to win this," said Gohan as he and Videl watched the fight from their suite.  
  
"Really?"  
  
Gohan sighed. "Probably not, but you never know."  
  
***  
  
Vegeta, meanwhile, was starting to re-discover the difficulties in fighting a shorter opponent. A stranglehold was nearly impossible to pull off, and he was constantly having to bend over to reach him. This wasn't helped by the fact that he could hear Kakarot cheering his brat on.  
  
Neither of them were using much strategy, choosing instead to merely exchange a flurry of punches and kicks. Each of them was bleeding slightly from several places.  
  
Finally, Vegeta got in a blow strong enough to force Goten back several steps. The boy stood there for several seconds. He was obviously planning something...  
  
The king of the Saiyans was still trying to figure out the plan was when suddenly Goten took off. He flew straight at Vegeta, slamming him in the head before he could get out of the way.  
  
"Oh! A devastating head-butt on the part of Goten!" shouted out the Budokai Announcer.  
  
He didn't even have time to wipe the blood from his nose before Goten attacked again. He unleashed a hail of punches onto Vegeta's midsection, then concluded with an uppercut to his chin that sent him flying half the distance of the ring.  
  
Vegeta got to his feet, slowly. What the hell was going on here?  
  
The old rage began to surface. He would NOT be beaten by a ten-year old!  
  
He ran towards the young half-Saiyan. He drew back his right fist. Right as he got there, Goten moved out of the way of the punch.  
  
Which was exactly what Vegeta had planned. The punch was just a feint. He snaked out his left arm and grabbed Goten by the hair. He smirked at the look of surprise on his face.  
  
He raised him up, then slammed him down into the stone squares that made up the ring. He then proceeded to punch him in the stomach three times, hard.  
  
"Well, brat? Any last words for the crowd before I knock you out?"  
  
He began to speak.  
  
"Ka...me...ha...me..."  
  
Vegeta backflipped out of the way just as Goten unleashed the powerful beam. He stood up and began to try and track the older man with it.  
  
The king of the Saiyans began to run around the outside of the ring at super-speeds. Goten's Kamehameha was just a foot behind him as the kid turned, following him. Gradually, he began to narrow down the spiral of his run, slowly and almost unnoticeably getting closer to Goten with each revolution, until finally he was able to loop straight to his back, grab him, and point downwards.  
  
Before Goten could cut off the beam, the sheer force of it pushed them both up thirty feet into the air. The two warriors hovered there.  
  
"Well well well. Looks like I have you in my element, boy."  



	9. Round One: The Fifth Match: Vegeta Bri...

"The two warriors are flying now, utilizing the Bukujitsu technique!" said the Announcer. "We knew that Goten could do this, but we did not know the same was true for Vegeta! Of course, everyone seems to know it nowadays."  
  
"What do ya mean, your element?" demanded Goten.  
  
"You've been able to fly for about three years, brat. I've been flying *since* I was three."  
  
He charged at Goten, forcing the young half-Saiyan to defend himself rapidly. Sloppily, as well; more than a few of Vegeta's blows connected.  
  
"You got in a few good hits, but face it, you're out of your league. You may as well give up now, so that I will have more strength for my fight against your father."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Goten released an omni-directional energy burst that forced Vegeta to stop his attack.  
  
"So, you like energy, do you boy? Then you should love this."  
  
The king of the Saiyans extended his arms to either side of his head, palms facing outwards. From each hand he released five spheres of yellow energy. They lined up on either side of him.  
  
"These are my Torakkingu Taihou! Let's see if you can escape!"  
  
He pointed at Goten, and the spheres darted at him. Goten dived down to avoid them, but they began to follow. He executed a zig-zag manuever to try and shake them off. They followed his every movement.  
  
***  
  
Gohan gaped at the screen.  
  
"I didn't know he could do that," said Videl.  
  
"Neither did I," her husband managed to get out. "He must have invented the technique just recently."  
  
***  
  
"You can't escape! Not unless they hit you or I call them off! Surrender, boy!"  
  
Goten said nothing. Instead, he responded by unleashing a blast that destroyed two of the spheres. The other eight remained on his trail, doggedly following him.  
  
Vegeta unleashed one more tiny energy blast that flew directly in front of Goten and impacted harmlessly on the ring below. Goten was so surprised at his near-miss that he stopped dead.  
  
That gave the other spheres time to catch up.  
  
***  
  
"Oh!" yelled the Announcer. "Goten has been caught by Vegeta's technique! He's been hit by the last eight of those spheres!"  
  
***  
  
After the explosions were over, Goten was very unstable; it looked like he could barely keep afloat.  
  
"Time to end this!"  
  
Vegeta swooped down several feet and grabbed Goten, then began to rush directly at the ring below. At the last possible moment before impact, he tossed the young half-Saiyan outside of the ring.  
  
"Goten is out of the ring...winner, VEGETA BRIEFS!" shouted the Budokai Announcer. Wasting no time, the victorious king walked back to the fighters' waiting area and resumed his usual pose of leaning against a wall.  
  
"Why did you just toss him out of the ring?" asked Mirai.  
  
"I am not totally without mercy. Also, I had no desire to be remembered as the mighty warrior who knocked out a ten-year old."  



	10. Round One: The Sixth Match: Mirai Brie...

Goten got to his feet and also returned to the fighters' area. He looked disappointed.  
  
"Are you OK, Goten?" asked his father Goku.  
  
"Yeah, but I can't believe I lost in the first round."  
  
"Don't worry about it. You put up a great fight. Most adults couldn't do as well against Vegeta as you did."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Sure. And don't worry, I'll get your revenge for you," he said grinning.  
  
The king of Saiyans laughed. "That won't happen today or any other day, Kakarot."  
  
"We'll just see about that."  
  
The Announcer began to speak again. Vegeta sat up. The fight about to commence would be one to observe very closely.  
  
***  
  
"And now for a match I'm sure we've all been anticipating! It's brother against brother! Mirai Briefs vs. Trunks Briefs!"  
  
The two purple-haired counterparts walked into the ring.  
  
"Mirai has been away the last several years and so has been unable to enter until now, so I have no idea about his fighting skills! But if they're anything like his brother's, they must be spectacular! Speaking of his brother, Trunks--as you'll no doubt remember--earned the Junior Division championship at the last Budokai in a simply amazing final round battle! These two are the sons of Bulma Briefs, the Capsule Corporation heiress, and Vegeta, the fighter whom you just saw! I'm sure this will be a match to remember!"  
  
***  
  
The two warriors took up their stances.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
In two blurs of purple, they rushed at one another. When only a few feet separated them, Mirai turned his rush into a feet-first slide, kicking his other self right in the head. Recovering quickly, Trunks grabbed Mirai's legs and used them as levers to slam his counterpart's head into the ring.  
  
Mirai kicked out and managed to jar himself out of Trunks's grip. Getting into a crouching position, he unconsciously reached for his sword, only to remember that he didn't have it because of the 'no weapons' rule at the Budokai.  
  
Cursing, he jumped straight up as Trunks fired a beam at him. He turned the jump into a leap by utilizing his ki and struck Trunks across the face with his fist. Before the kid could retaliate, he floated to keep himself at his counterpart's eye level. He then began to pummel him with a quick series of punches.   
  
There was enough of a break in the series for Trunks to leap forward. Since Mirai was hovering horizontally to the ground, Trunks leapt onto his back and linked his arms around his older self's throat.  
  
Mirai jerked himself back upright as his supply of oxygen began to dwindle. He couldn't pry Trunks's arms off, so he began to slam down into the ring onto his back, hoping to dislodge him.  
  
***  
  
"Damn, both of them are vicious," said Videl.  
  
Gohan nodded. "They must get it from their parents."  
  
"Which parent?"  
  
"Both."  
  
***  
  
After the fourth or fifth slam, Trunks's grip around Mirai's throat had loosened just enough for him to shake off his younger counterpart.  
  
Both of them released energy attacks that met inbetween the two of them. They kept it up for a minute or so before they both cut off the power.  
  
"This is an incredible match so far between the two brothers!" said the Announcer. "I can't tell who's going to win!"  
  
***  
  
In the stands, Bulma was on her feet watching. She bit her lip nervously.  
  
"I don't know who to root for!" she said.  
  
"It doesn't matter," said Chi-Chi. "Either way, Trunks is going to win."  



	11. Round One: The Sixth Match: Mirai Brie...

Trunks suddenly shot forward and delivered a kick to Mirai's midsection. Before he could even catch his breath, he had already counter-attacked, grabbing Trunks by the chest. He started to squeeze.  
  
"Aah!"  
  
He wasn't squeezing for long. His younger counterpart, desperate to escape, had bitten him on the arm, and when Mirai had recoiled, managed to slip away.  
  
"Well, well...looks like our father did teach you," said Mirai smiling.  
  
"You're not too bad yourself."  
  
"Thanks. And now, let's see if you can take this."  
  
Mirai began to quickly move his arms in a very complex fashion; if Trunks hadn't known better, he would have sworn that his older counterpart's arms had moved through each other several times.  
  
He ended the pattern by putting his thumbs and index fingers together, and pointing his palms at Trunks.  
  
"Burning Attack!"  
  
He fired a small but swift ball of energy right at Trunks. He jumped up to one side to avoid it.  
  
And directly into Mirai, who had already reached there. He hit his younger counterpart straight in the head with interlocked fists, which sent Trunks straight into the arena wall onto the grass.  
  
"Trunks is out of the ring...winner, MIRAI BRIEFS!" yelled the Announcer to the crowd that was roaring its approval.  
  
The winner went to help up Trunks. "You OK?"  
  
"I'm fine. What was that?"  
  
"The Burning Attack. All the arm-waving makes it seem a lot more powerful than it really is. It's best used as a decoy. Freeza fell for it too, though I just sliced him up instead of knocking him out of the ring."  
  
"You'll have to teach me that."  
  
"Anytime, anytime. And when I win, I'll buy you some ice cream." He smiled.  
  
"IF you win. And I'll hold you to that." He smiled as well. 


	12. Round One: The Seventh Match: Mr. Buu ...

Vegeta gave them both a perfunctory nod as they returned, as close to approval as they'd probably get.  
  
"Sorry about that, Trunks," said Goten.  
  
"That's OK. At least now I don't have to fight Dad."  
  
Mirai laughed. "Yeah, you got off lucky. I won't like the look on his face when I beat him." He grinned.  
  
"I don't recall you being so cocky before," said Vegeta, still staring out at the ring and not changing his facial expression at all.  
  
He shrugged. There was just something about his younger self that seemed to encourage it.  
  
***  
  
"Now that was a great match, ladies and gentlemen! Let's have a round of applause for both of them!" said the Budokai Announcer. Once the applause died down, he continued.  
  
"And now for our next match! Mr. Buu has been taken in by the great Mr. Satan as his top pupil! But how will he fair against Jinsoku? This is his first time competing in a Budokai at all, but according to eyewitness reports, he dispatched his opponents in the preliminaries with amazing speed. Let's see how they do!"  
  
Mr. Buu, the large fat pink blob who represented the good that had been in the demon, took up his position on side of the ring. Jinsoku, a weaselly-looking little man, took his own stance on the opposite side.  
  
"May you be a worthy opponent and fight with great honor," said Jinsoku, bowing. Mr. Buu merely grinned and nodded.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Suddenly, Jinsoku vanished.  
  
Vegeta blinked. Jinsoku hadn't vanished to him, of course. He had simply seen the fighter run at an incredible speed across the ring over to where Buu awaited. But to the untrained eye, it would appear that he had simply teleported there.  
  
Once Jinsoku had slowed down to where everyone could see him, he hopped up and kicked Buu square in the face. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to have any effect besides getting his foot caught in the odd, squishy material that comprised Buu.  
  
As he struggled to extricate himself, Buu merely stood there laughing. Vegeta, forseeing the outcome, grew bored with the fight itself and began to muse on the weaselly little man's speed. It didn't appear to be ki-based, otherwise his strength would be increased as well and that didn't seem to be the case. The more likely case was that it was some kind of abnormal power, much as Baata of the Ginyu Force had been faster than Ginyu himself, whom in all other aspects outclassed him.  
  
"Dammit! I can't get out!" said Jinsoku.  
  
Buu reached up and pulled the man's leg free. "There you go."  
  
"Uh, thanks..."  
  
"Now it's my turn to fight!"  
  
He picked up a startled Jinsoku and threw him at the wall, all the way across the ring. The flying fighter had enough time to do a mental assessment at superspeed.  
  
He didn't want to try and stop his rush by planting his legs on the wall, that could shatter the bones and speed was his living. His arms would only be slightly better; he depended on them for good running form. His back would be inadvisable, as that could destroy his spine. Hitting stomach first could rupture his internal organs. That left one choice.  
  
He quickly angled himself so that when he did hit the wall, he hit face first. He slammed into it and slid down onto the grass. His nose was bleeding profusely and his teeth hurt a lot, but it was nothing that time and some ice wouldn't fix. He got up and began to walk away, wiping his face on his sleeve.  
  
"Jinsoku is out of the ring...winner, MR. BUU!" shouted the Announcer. The pink blob grinned and waved at the crowd.  
  
***  
  
After quickly fetching a bag of ice, Jinsoku joined his old friend Soumei in the bleachers.  
  
"Nice angling at the wall there."  
  
"Thanks. You had a nice forfeit yourself." They chuckled.  



	13. Round One: The Eighth Match: Juuhachig...

"OK!" said the Budokai Announcer. "Time for the last fight of the first round! Juuhachigou participated in the 25th Budokai three years ago, and came in second place to Mr. Satan himself! Opposing her will be Karyuudo, who is known for his mysterious, some say mystic, powers! He almost made the finalists in the 23rd Budokai many years ago, and has spent the time since then honing his art. Has it been enough?"  
  
Juuhachigou and Karyuudo entered the ring and took up their positions. Karyuudo, a middle-aged man in hunter's garb, nodded at her. She remained as unreadable as always.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Karyuudo immediately clapped his hands, and a grey mist appeared, covering everything.  
  
"Oh!" said the Announcer, intrigued. "This is one of Karyuudo's trademarks, blinding his opponent with mist and then defeating them! Let's see--wait! Something is rising out of the mist!"  
  
The something turned out to be Juuhachigou. In one hand she was holding a very embarassed looking Karyuudo by the collar of his shirt.  
  
She floated several years to the edge of the arena and found where Soumei and Jinsoku were sitting.  
  
"Is he with you?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
"Make room."  
  
The two fighters scooted apart. Juuhachigou sat the hunter inbetween them.  
  
"Get rid of the mist."  
  
Karyuudo clapped again and the grey fog dispersed. The woman nodded and returned back to the ring.  
  
"Uh...Karyuudo is out of the ring in one of the most unorthodox methods I've ever seen...winner, JUUHACHIGOU!"  
  
"I bet you wish you could conjure up a little personal mist for yourself, hm?" said Soumei.  
  
"Oh, shut up," was Karyuudo's reply as Jinsoku snickered.  
  
***  
  
The Announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium again.  
  
"Well, that concludes our first round, and we've had some exciting matches! In the next round, we'll get to see Son Goku vs. Ma Junior, Mr. Satan vs. Kasabaru, Vegeta Briefs vs. Mirai Briefs, and Mr. Buu vs. Juuhachigou! But first, a ten minute recess! See you then!"  
  
***  
  
"Well, that was a great first round," said Gohan.  
  
"Definitely."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Think ten minutes would be enough time?"  
  
She shrugged. "We're on our honeymoon, why the hell not?"  



	14. Intermission I

"So how do you guys think this Kasabaru fellow is gonna do?" asked Soumei as he and his two companions got some drinks.  
  
Karyuudo shook his head. "I don't think he'll make it past Mr. Satan."  
  
Jinsoku nodded. "He's good, but he's outclassed."  
  
***  
  
"Can you believe it, Piccolo?" asked Goku with a wide smile. "We'll be fighting next!"  
  
"Just like old times." Even Piccolo had a hint of a smile.  
  
***  
  
"Hey Trunks, who do you think is gonna win? Your dad or your big brother?" 'Big brother' was the easiest way for Goten to think about it.  
  
"I think Dad'll win, unless he makes a big mistake or something." He could have sworn he saw Vegeta glance at them for a second.  
  
***  
  
Mr. Satan hummed contentedly to himself in his private champion's quarters. Just like he'd planned, he'd win the championship and Buu would take second. He knew that the woman was strong, but not strong enough.  
  
***  
  
The Budokai Announcer was ecstatic. It had been years since they'd had a proper tournament! The last one had had potential, but it had been disrupted. But this...!  
  
This was heaven.  
  
He looked at his watch. Time to start. He adjusted his sunglasses and picked up his microphone.  
  
"OK! The break is over, and the second round will commence shortly! Everyone, please return to your seats, you won't want to miss an instant of the action!"  
  
***  
  
"Damn! It's starting!"  
  
Gohan and Videl emerged from the sheets that they had gotten entangled in during the last ten minutes. Their shared thought was: It picked the most inconvenient moment, too...  



	15. Round Two: The First Match: Son Goku v...

"Time for the second round of the 26th Tenka'ichi Budokai! And we're kicking it off with a bang with this first match! It's Son Goku vs. Ma Junior! These same fighters clashed in the final round of the 23rd Budokai, with the result that the crowd fled and the whole arena, stadium and all, was destroyed! And now they're fighting again! This will easily be one of the best matches this time around!"  
  
Goku and Piccolo stepped into the ring and took up their positions.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
***  
  
"I bet you're having a tough time deciding who to pull for," said Videl, grinning at Gohan.  
  
"You got that right."  
  
***  
  
Goku and Piccolo set upon one another in a hail of fast blows. They were both so skilled that they were able to block almost all of the other's attacks.  
  
Goku was the first to connect. One of his punches landed right on Piccolo's head and sent him tumbling down. The Namek placed one of his hands on the ring to stop his falling, and quickly lashed out and upwards with his right leg, kicking the Saiyan upside the chin.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta frowned. There was something wrong here...  
  
***  
  
Goku snapped his head back into place. Piccolo had begun a new offensive, and he had to quickly go on the defensive.  
  
Finally, Goku was able to catch one of his opponent's arms. He tossed him over his shoulder. As Piccolo landed, he was right behind, starting an offensive of his own.  
  
***  
  
"Wow!" yelled out the Announcer. "This is an astounding match! Both fighters have become blurs, and all I can discern is that each of them is taking a pounding!"  
  
***  
  
The two of them leaped apart to catch their breath.  
  
Piccolo smiled. He had a secret move that Goku had not seen, although he had used it against Juunanagou--Android Seventeen--in the past.  
  
He tossed a small blast of energy at Goku, who took to the air to avoid it. The blast detonated harmlessly on the arena wall, but neither of them noticed. Goku was wondering what his opponent was up to, and Piccolo knew he had Goku right where he wanted him.  
  
He began to toss blast after blast after blast of energy at Goku, who managed to dodge them all.  
  
"You'll have to do better than that!" he shouted down to Piccolo, grinning.  
  
In response, Piccolo chuckled, and gestured.  
  
Goku looked around to see that all the energy blasts were hovering right behind him. And now, at the Namek's command, they all converged on him at once.  
  
***  
  
Gohan and Videl sat in their bed speechless as they watched all of the blasts meet in a tremendous explosion.  
  
***  
  
Piccolo chuckled. That wasn't enough to kill the Saiyan, but it would knock him out. He just had to wait for Goku to drop out of the cloud of smoke onto the ground.  
  
Instead, the smoke dissipated to reveal Goku, who had moved a foot or two of the spot where the blasts had converged. His fighting gi was torn and singed in several places, but that appeared to be the extent of the damage.  
  
"Wow," he said, "That was good!"  
  
On the ground, Piccolo cursed. Then he stopped, realizing as he did so that even though his opponent had dodged the main thrust of his attack, he had still been hit by a few of the blasts and affected by the enormous explosion, not to mention all the energy he had expended dodging the blasts in their original volley. It wasn't what he had hoped for, but it was enough, he hoped.  
  
***  
  
"I don't believe that!" said Gohan. "I didn't think Dad was that fast!" Videl could only nod her head mutely in response.  
  
***  
  
The thing that had been bothering Vegeta throughout the whole fight finally crystallized in his head.  
  
How was Kakarot dodging that? He shouldn't be able to if he didn't go Super Saiyan...  
  
And then it hit him.  
  
THAT DAMNABLE KAKAROT!  



	16. Round Two: The First Match: Son Goku v...

While Piccolo was still offbalance from seeing his attack mainly miss, Goku launched himself to the ground. He and his opponent clashed again, this time using the Zanzoken technique to create after-images as they fought.  
  
"Such incredible speed and power!" shouted the Budokai Announcer. "I was right, this is one of the best matches!"  
  
***  
  
That incredible speed and power was exactly what had caused the mental gear-locking that Vegeta's brain was currently undergoing.  
  
Kakarot shouldn't be able to do all this without going Super Saiyan...Vegeta knew for a fact that he wasn't this powerful otherwise.  
  
Unless, of course, he'd specifically trained in his normal mode.  
  
That was it. Kakarot had known about the upcoming tournament, and had trained without going Super Saiyan, because he no doubt had remembered that the informal 'no Super Saiyan' rule would still be in effect.  
  
Something that Vegeta had overlooked. He had boosted the power of his Super Saiyan levels, but his regular form had stayed about the same.  
  
As he cursed himself, another realization entered his mind, one that made the first seem insignificant.  
  
He couldn't win this.  
  
Oh, he could beat Mirai. But after that, unless there was something resembling a miracle for Juuhachigou, his opponent would be Mr. Buu.  
  
And there would be no way he could beat him in regular mode. He simply didn't have the power. He would be stopped next round.  
  
But even if he could somehow manage a victory, he would then have to face Kakarot in the final round. And although he, as King of the Saiyans, was more powerful if everything was taken into account...  
  
...thanks to his 'normal mode' training, Kakarot would have the advantage here.  
  
He cursed some more.  
  
Dammit, no! He was the King of the Saiyans! That had to count for something! He was the undisputed ruler of the most powerful race in the cosmos!  
  
And he wasn't an idiot! He would allow that he could act foolish on occasion, but idiotic? Never! But that was exactly what Mr. Buu and Kakarot were. There had to be a way to turn that to his advantage. HAD to be!  
  
***  
  
Goten, Trunks, and Mirai were watching Goku and Piccolo fight. They already knew about their amazing fighting skills, of course, but this seemed to be a new level. They were awestruck.  
  
Goten caught a glimpse of Vegeta out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"Trunks, why is your dad shaking his fist, gritting his teeth, and hissing?"  
  
"Ahh, that's normal for him."  
  
***  
  
"Made up your mind yet?" said Videl.  
  
"N-no," Gohan stammered.  
  
***  
  
At this point both Goku and Piccolo were very bloody indeed. They appeared evenly matched, and the fight showed no sign of ending anytime soon.  
  
"Indeed, this is just like old times," said Piccolo. Goku's jaw hurt too much to let him respond.  
  
The two, currently on opposite sides of the ring, charged one another yet again. They each swung their fists and landed a blow. They reached the ends of the ring and whirled around.  
  
At least, that's what Goku did.  
  
Piccolo tried to, but one of the most ignominious things to ever occur to him in his many centuries of life on two different planets occured. As he attempted to whirl, his cape came slightly loose and one corner of it got caught under his right foot.  
  
He slipped, and has he attempted to regain his balance he fell.  
  
Right out of the ring.  
  
There was a silence.  
  
"W-well," said the Announcer, regaining his voice, "One of the best matches I've ever witnessed is over! Ma Junior is out of the ring...winner, SON GOKU!"  
  
Goku went over to where Piccolo was getting to his feet. He looked very angry.  
  
"You OK, Piccolo?"  
  
"I cannot believe this...I cannot belive this, undone by my cape. This is humiliating. This is worse than being Gohan's 'Best Man.' This...I simply cannot believe this."  
  
"Don't worry, everyone gets embarassed sometimes."  
  
"But not like that."  
  
***  
  
Videl was laughing so hard that she was in danger of falling out of the bed, and had to hold on to Gohan so she wouldn't.  
  
"Next time I enter one of these things, remind me not to wear my cape," said Gohan, in a bit of shock himself.  



	17. Round Two: The Second Match: Mr. Satan...

"OK! Time for the next match! We all know Mr. Satan the world champion! But how will he fare against newcomer Kasabaru, who's fighting to win money to feed his family? Let's see!"  
  
The two of them walked into the ring and took up their respective positions.  
  
"It is an honor to be fighting against the great world savior," said Kasabaru, bowing.  
  
"The honor is all mine, to fight someone with such a noble heart," replied Mr. Satan, making himself look good to the crowd.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
The two warriors began to circle one another. Kasabaru made the first move. The mighty sumo's hand slammed at Mr. Satan, who leapt away from it and to one side.  
  
Showing the same agileness he demonstrated against Hokorashii, Kasabaru turned and slammed again, almost catching Mr. Satan, who had seen it coming and dodged just in time.  
  
When he turned again, he was greeted by a punch to the face from the world champion that staggered him back several steps.  
  
***  
  
From his own seat in the stands, away from Soumei, Jinsoku, and Karyuudo, Hokorashii grinned nastily.  
  
"The fat fool deserves it. Serves him right for defeating me in such a humiliating fashion. And now he can't even feed his poor, sad family. HA!"  
  
***  
  
Mr. Satan followed up his punch with several kicks to the stomach.  
  
Kasabaru leaned down on his knees, clearly in pain. Mr. Satan flashed the victory "V" sign to the audience.  
  
"Oh! Mr. Satan is declaring victory!"  
  
But his triumph was shortlived. Still crouching, Kasabaru lunged forward and grabbed his opponent by the legs and began to squeeze.  
  
***  
  
Soumei spat out the drink he had in his mouth. Jinsoku, who was about to take a bite from his sandwich, froze, with his mouth still open. Karyuudo swallowed his gum.  
  
***  
  
"NO!" roared Hokorashii.  
  
***  
  
The Announcer watched open-mouthed.  
  
***  
  
"COME ON KASABARU!" yelled Videl, nearly deafening Gohan.  
  
***  
  
Suddenly Mr. Satan chopped the sumo on the back of the neck, causing him to ease his grasp just enough for Mr. Satan to free himself.  
  
Wasting no time, Kasabaru charged at the world champion, who dodged out of the way once more. Unlike in the match against Hokorashii, the sumo was unable to stop his momentum before he could run out of the ring.  
  
"Kasabaru is out of the ring...winner, MR. SATAN!" yelled the Announcer to the loudly roaring crowd.  
  
The defeated warrior began to slump off, but Mr. Satan hurried up to him and whispered in his ear. After a few moments, Kasabaru's whole demeanor changed; now he was in very high spirits. Then the champion walked to the Announcer and talked to him as well.  
  
"Folks," said the Announcer to the spectators, "You'll be happy to hear that Mr. Satan is going to donate one million zeni to Kasabaru and his family!"  
  
***  
  
Videl snorted. "He's just doing that to seem like a nice guy."  
  
Gohan began to massage her shoulders. "Probably, but he's still doing it, so that's what matters." He noticed that his wife's eyes had closed. "Something wrong?"  
  
"Better not do that, Gohan...we still have two more matches this round to watch."  



	18. Round Two: The Third Match: Vegeta Bri...

"OK martial arts fans, are you ready for the next match?" the Budokai Announcer yelled. The roar of the crowd noise increased dramatically as they all answered in the affirmative.  
  
"Then let's start it! It's father against son in what will no doubt prove to be one of the most intriguing fights of the whole tournament. Vegeta Briefs takes on his older son Mirai!"  
  
The two fighters walked into the ring.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Father and son met in a clash of blows. They had trained together just enough to be able to predict one another's moves. For a whole five minutes, none of their attacks landed, being either blocked or dodged.  
  
Then Mirai tried something unorthodox. At the current point in his attack pattern, he would normally throw a punch at his opponent's head. This was a move that Vegeta avoided by leaping straight up.  
  
So instead, he hurled himself forward. Vegeta, however, had already leapt in anticipation of the punch. As a result, Mirai managed to grab his father's legs. Taking advantage of his surprise, he brought him down crashing into the ring floor. He leaned down to followup, but Vegeta rolled to one side and lashed out with his leg, kicking Mirai in the jaw.  
  
He leapt to his feet, only to be greeted by what actually was, this time around, a punch to the head from Mirai. He quickly shot out his arms and grabbed his son's right arm before he had a chance to fully retract it. He threw him over his head into the air, and then took off from the ground himself.  
  
The younger man regained control of himself just in time to block another attack from his father, who had just arrived beside him. The fight continued as it had before, with each of them being able to guard against the other's attacks.  
  
After several more minutes, Vegeta noticed that Mirai's attacks had seemingly become just a little bit more powerful, they seemed to hurt a little more whenever he blocked them. Was this some kind of new technique he had secretly developed, to get stronger the more damage he took?  
  
No.  
  
Now that he was looking for it, he could see it. Immediately before striking, Mirai sheathed the fist or foot in question in an aura of energy...and just after striking, he removed the aura. It was so quick that even warriors of their aptitude wouldn't notice it unless they were searching for something different.  
  
"A nice trick, boy," he said. This was psychology; revealing that you knew the enemy's hidden trick was a good way to often throw them off-balance. "But not nice enough."  
  
His son's normal look of totally focused determination changed into one of surprise. His guard slipped just enough for Vegeta to land three solid blows to his chest that sent him flying backwards.  



	19. Round Two: The Third Match: Vegeta Bri...

"This is a pretty good match so far," said Videl.  
  
Gohan couldn't answer; he was getting a back rub from her.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta swooped to the other side of the ring to try and attack before Mirai could recover. However, his son planted a foot on the ring to right himself. Immediately he flew as well, and before Vegeta could react Mirai slammed headfirst into his stomach.  
  
Reacting on instinct, his hand shot out and grabbed his son's long violet hair. Thus it was that Vegeta's momentum was not what it would have been. Instead of landing halfway across the arena, he merely stumbled back a few steps, dragging Mirai with him.  
  
Tearing a few hairs loose in the process, he dropped to the arena floor and out of his father's grasp. Then he swept the Saiyan king's legs out from under him.  
  
Vegeta crashed to the ground. Mirai aimed a kick at him, but he managed to roll out of the way. Then he rose again.  
  
"Not bad, boy, not bad. But still I am your superior!"  
  
And the two collided again.  
  
***  
  
"Your brother's doing pretty good!" said Goten.  
  
Trunks nodded.  
  
***  
  
"You're both doing great!" yelled Bulma from her place in the stands.  
  
"Still can't decide who to root for?" whispered Chi-Chi next to her.  
  
"Nope."  
  
***  
  
By this time both combatants were very bloody indeed. Because each of them knew the other's signature attacks, it had degenerated into a simple slugfest. Punches and kicks were being rapidly exchanged, with very little attention paid to blocking or form. They were concentrating simply on power and punishment.  
  
The roar of the crowd increased with each blow, until they were on their feet screaming support for their chosen favorite. They seemed about evenly split, although it could be ascertained that most of the ladies seemed to be rooting for Mirai.  
  
And then, they could distinguish a new sound, one that rose above even that of the crowd.  
  
"OK! That was one exciting half-hour, wasn't it?"  
  
It was the Budokai Announcer. Rather hesitantly, they stopped attacking. They were both thinking the same thing: Had that been a whole half-an-hour?  
  
"Our combatants were too evenly matched for either of them to lose by ringout or knockout! It looks like it'll be up to our judges to decide the winner!"  
  
The seven judges at ringside gathered together and talked for a moment. Then one of them talked to the Announcer.  
  
"We have a winner! Our judges have turned in a four-to-three split decision! Advancing to the next round is...VEGETA BRIEFS!"  
  
Vegeta staggered out of the ring and back to the fighters' area.  
  
Mirai, meanwhile, supported himself on the arena wall. Suddenly his vision was obscured by a towel landing on his head. He toweled the blood off his face, then quizzically looked into the audience to see who had thrown it.  
  
His gaze was caught by a pretty red-headed girl in the audience who was waving frantically at him. They just stared at each other for a long moment.  
  
***  
  
Yamcha, who was watching this, put his hand over his face. "Oh boy. Here we go."  
  
Raditz, Iroke, Nappa, Bardock and Turles looked at him in confusion.  
  
"We have love interest. Seen it a dozen times." He shook his head.  



	20. Round Two: The Fourth Match: Mr. Buu v...

There was a small break in the action as the attendants wiped all of the blood off of the arena. A trifle unsteadily, Mirai made his way back to the fighters' area, where he could watch the rest of the matches.  
  
But he wasn't alone.  
  
The pretty red-headed girl was coming with him. As always whenever there was a female around who wasn't related to him, he was blushing slightly.  
  
"That was a good fight!" said Goku when Mirai arrived. Then he noticed his companion. "Hey, who's the girl?"  
  
"This is...um..." Mirai turned to her. "What's your name again?"  
  
"Jennifer," she said in innocent tones that nevertheless somehow managed to have a sultry layer.  
  
"R-right. Jennifer."  
  
"Ohh. So whatcha doing with Mirai?"  
  
She giggled a bit. "Well, I tossed him a towel to wipe himself off with, and he's so handsome that I just had to follow him. And he didn't seem to mind me coming." She winked at him, and played with his long hair.  
  
Vegeta, watching this, rolled his eyes.  
  
***  
  
After the ring had been cleaned, the Budokai Announcer began to speak again. "OK! It's time for the last fight of the second round! Mr. Buu is Mr. Satan's number one student! But how will he fare against Juuhachigou, the woman who almost beat Mr. Satan himself last time? We'll just have to see!"  
  
The large pink thing and the beautiful female android entered the ring.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Buu simply stood there, but Juuhachigou went on the offensive. Knowing she didn't possess the power necessary for a knockout, she tried to get him out of the ring. To that end, she dropped down and attempted to sweep his legs out from under him with a scythe-like kick.  
  
However, she was unable to budge them. Buu continued to stand there watching her. Then he said, with an almost childlike innocence, "My turn!"  
  
Before she could react, he had grabbed her and hefted her above his head. Then he threw her. She attempted to use her power of flight to change direction, but it was too late. Mere moments before she could veer off in a different way, she slammed into the grass outside of the ring.  
  
"Oh!" shouted the Announcer in surprise. "I was expecting a long drawn-out fight, but this one is already over! Juuhachigou is out of the ring...winner, MR. BUU!"  
  
Still lying on the ground, the android snarled. She had fared no better than that normal human had in the first round.  
  
Rising to the air once again, she found her husband in the audience and took a seat next to him. Kuririn, who could read her moods quite well, knew better than to say anything.  
  
***  
  
"If you agree with me that that was an exciting second round, shout!" said the Budokai Announcer into his microphone. The crowd responded emphatically, their noise rising even higher.  
  
"Glad to hear it! And the third round looks to be just as good! Our two semi-final matches consist of Son Goku vs. Mr. Satan, and Vegeta Briefs vs. Mr. Buu! Who will move on to the final round? The semi-finals start in ten minutes...don't miss it!"  
  
***  
  
Gohan and Videl looked at one another.  
  
"Think we can pull it off this time?" said Gohan.  
  
"May as well give it a try."  



	21. Intermission II

"You're certainly going to have your work cut out for you," said Mirai.  
  
Vegeta shared those same thoughts, but outwardly he let no sign of it show. "If you think I will lose to that thing, you are delusional, boy. And it looks like you're the one with the problem," he said, smirking.  
  
Mirai blushed. Jennifer was still there, and she didn't seem too happy about being ignored.  
  
"Um, sorry," he said. This didn't seem to cut much ice with her. He didn't have much experience with social situations and even less with girls, so he desperately fell back on the only thing he could think of.  
  
"Uh...are you doing anything Saturday night?"  
  
She seemed to soften a little. "No, I can't think of anything. Why?"  
  
He exhausted his knowledge of relationships by saying, "I thought maybe we could go out to dinner or something."  
  
To his relief, she shrugged. "Sure. What's your number?" Mirai rattled off the Capsule Corporation phone number.  
  
"OK. I'll call you sometime tomorrow." She turned and walked away, but Mirai thought he saw a hint of a smile.  
  
Leaving his son, Vegeta walked over to Kakarot. "Even a lower class like you should be able to defeat that human. And then, in the finals, I shall finally be able to savor your defeat."  
  
Kakarot grinned. "I wouldn't be too sure of that. We don't even know that it will be us two in the finals."  
  
"I will defeat that hideous pink monstrosity," growled Vegeta. "And I will do the same to you."  
  
Kakarot merely shrugged.  
  
***  
  
Mr. Satan was a little nervous. Not TOO nervous, just a little.  
  
He laid back in his private champion's quarters and thought. He knew that Mr. Buu was stronger than Vegeta; he'd seen it first-hand on that bizarre other world where the four current semi-finalists had triumphed over that evil version of Buu. He'd be fine in the finals, Buu would throw the match to him.  
  
It was the semi-finals that was worrying him. With any luck, Goku would also throw. Now that Videl was married to Goku's son, hopefully he would decide that the best way to prevent tension in the new marriage would be to lose. That's what anyone else would choose.  
  
Of course, Mr. Satan had gotten to know Goku over the last several years. And while he was many things, not the least of which was an exceptional fighter, he was not a relationship genius. He might not arrive at that conclusion at all.  
  
Still, there was no sense worrying about it, Mr. Satan decided. He couldn't do anything about it.  
  
***  
  
"Looks like our dads might be in trouble," said Trunks. "Yours is up against the world champion."  
  
"And yours is up against Buu," said Goten.  
  
***  
  
The Budokai Announcer wiped the sweat off his brow. That second round had included two of the best matches he'd seen in years. To tell the truth, he'd been a bit disappointed to see Juuhachigou lose; a rematch between her and Mr. Satan would have been interesting indeed.  
  
As it was, he was currently pinning his hopes for seeing Mr. Satan defeated on Son Goku, who was one of the best fighters he had seen in his long career of announcing.  
  
He glanced at his watch. Five minutes until the third round.  
  
***  
  
Bardock leaned out and over to Yamcha. "You know the most about these other two. Who do you think will win?"  
  
"I think Mr. Buu is going to take it all. Your son can take Mr. Satan quite easily, but I highly doubt that Vegeta can defeat Buu without going Super Saiyan. And the same holds true for your son against Buu in the finals."  
  
Nappa snorted. "Just you watch, human. One way or another, a Saiyan will stand triumphant at the end."  
  
Yamcha gritted his teeth, but said nothing.  
  
***  
  
The Announcer looked at his watch again. There was only a minute left. Close enough, he decided; besides, he was anxious to see the next two matches.  
  
"OK! Let's begin the third round of the Tenka'ichi Budokai!"  
  
***  
  
Gohan and Videl once again came up from under the sheets. They looked at the bedside clock, then simultaneously yelled angrily at the TV.  
  
"That wasn't ten minutes!"  



	22. Round Three: The First Match: Son Goku...

"The third round starts off with a bang!" said the Budokai Announcer. "It's a clash of the champions! Son Goku was the winner of the 23rd Budokai, many years ago! Mr. Satan is our current two-time champion! Will Mr. Satan continue his winning streak? Or will Goku take a step towards reclaiming his title!"  
  
The two fighters walked into the ring.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
Goku concentrated.  
  
*Kaio-sama!*  
  
***  
  
The deity blinked. He hadn't expected to be contacted by Goku anytime soon.  
  
*Yes?*  
  
*I need you to let me speak to Mr. Satan's mind now, please.*  
  
Kaio-sama was confused, but he saw no reason to deny his request.  
  
*It's done. You may speak to him. Let me know when you want me to break the connection.*  
  
*Thank you, Kaio-sama!*  
  
***  
  
Goku wasn't attacking, so Mr. Satan began to show off for the audience.  
  
*Mr. Satan!*  
  
He blinked. Was he hearing Goku's voice in his head?  
  
*Yes, it's me. Listen, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to throw the match. I think that'd make sure that things with Gohan and Videl stay smooth.*  
  
*That's a relief!*  
  
*But we are gonna have to put on a show for the audience. We'll keep it a fairly even match until I give you the thumbs-up , then you'll knock me out of the ring. Got it?*  
  
*Got it.*  
  
*Thanks. OK Kaio-sama, you can break it now!*  
  
With that Goku leapt--at a perfectly human speed--at Mr. Satan.  
  
***  
  
"Oh no," moaned Gohan, clapping his hand to his forehead.  
  
"Please say that he's not going to let my dad win," said Videl in shock.  
  
***  
  
Goku and Mr. Satan exchanged blows for fifteen minutes before Goku gave the thumbs-up. He then lowered his guard.  
  
Mr. Satan grabbed him around the waist, lifted, and threw him towards the edge of the ring. Goku didn't have quite enough momentum, so he added to it by flying a little bit.  
  
He landed in the grass.  
  
***  
  
The Budokai Announcer stared silently for a long moment. Then, remembering his job, lifted his microphone.  
  
"Son Goku is out of the ring....w-winner, MR. SATAN!"  
  
He felt like he could cry.  
  
***  
  
Goku walked back into the fighters' area. Everyone was looking at him, unable to say a word.  
  
Everyone except Vegeta.  
  
"You--you--how dare you--I can't believe you--you..." All he could do was repeat those phrases, over and over again.  
  
Ignoring him, Goku walked over to Goten. "I told you that I'd get your revenge for you," he said, grinning.  
  
***  
  
"Of course, I have been known to be wrong," said Yamcha.  
  
***  
  
The Announcer approached Mr. Satan, who was still in the ring posing. He held up his microphone.  
  
"Well, Mr. Satan, it looks like you're headed to the finals again."  
  
"As expected," he said smugly. "Goku put up a good fight, but in the end he was no match for me."  
  
"Do you think that his performance might have been affected by the fact that his son Gohan married your daughter Videl just a week ago?"  
  
"Doubtful. The best martial artists, like us, never allow personal matters to interfere with our fighting."  
  
***  
  
Gohan leaned back from his wife, who was currently turning the air blue.  



	23. Round Three: The Second Match: Vegeta ...

"Time for the last match of the semi-finals! It's Vegeta Briefs, who has displayed excellent talent here today, against Mr. Satan's best student Mr. Buu!"  
  
Still shaking with rage, Vegeta entered the ring. Buu took up a position opposite him.  
  
"BEGIN!"  
  
As had happened twice before, Buu simply stood there. Vegeta charged over to him. At the last possible second, he leapt into the air. When he came down, he planted his feet directly in his opponent's face. He didn't budge.  
  
Before Buu could grab him, as he had done to Jinsoku and Juuhachigou, Vegeta launched himself away, his strength sufficient to free his feet from the odd pink material that Buu was made of. As he descended, he fired off a few quick ki blasts that impacted on Buu's chest to no effect.  
  
Suddenly Buu disappeared. A moment later Vegeta felt a tremendous blow connect to the back of his head; his opponent had used his superior speed to get behind him.  
  
The force of the strike was enough to send him tumbling to the other side of the ring. When he rose, Buu was again simply standing there. The Saiyan king used the pause in the action to analyze his opponent.  
  
Buu had the advantages in strength, speed, and durability. So what did that leave him? He had the edge in intelligence, no doubt about it; Buu made Kakarot look like a genius. But how could he turn that into a victory?  
  
Trying to stall for time, he unleashed a blistering wave of attacks, firing countless numbers of small blasts at Buu. It was the same technique he had used on Cell after Mirai had been killed.  
  
It appeared to be having about the same effect, too; Buu was simply walking through them as if they weren't there, slowly but relentlessly approaching him. At the last possible moment, Vegeta halted his attack and leapt high over Buu, landing behind him.  
  
"Vegeta is using some amazing looking techniques, but none of them appear to be having any effect on Buu! He appears to be fighting a losing battle!" yelled the Budokai Announcer.  
  
The pointy-haired warrior began to breathe hard. Once again, Buu was walking towards him. Vegeta frantically tried to think of a way to win.  
  
And then he got an idea.  
  
He walked to the edge of the ring. He looked at the grass beyond the ring for a moment, then turned to face his opponent.  
  
"Hey! Come here!"  
  
***  
  
Bulma blinked.  
  
***  
  
"What's your dad doing?" Goten asked Trunks, who could merely shake his head in confusion in reply.  
  
***  
  
Buu appeared puzzled. Vegeta waved at him, and again told him to come to him. Hesitantly, the pink creature walked in his direction.  
  
"What is it?" asked Buu.  
  
"I've found this really interesting rock," replied Vegeta. Part of him was unable to believe he had actually said that. "See? It's right there."  
  
As Buu leaned over to try and see the rock, Vegeta let out an almighty scream and released a small but tremendously powerful blast from his hands. It connected with his opponent.  
  
As Buu struggled desperately to regain his balance, the Saiyan king landed dozens of superspeed blows on his back.  
  
It was enough to tip the balance. Buu toppled out of the ring.  
  
There was a silence for a moment. Then the Budokai Announcer yelled, "Mr. Buu is out of the ring...winner, VEGETA BRIEFS!"  
  
***  
  
"Alright! Go Dad!" Trunks hopped up and down joyously.  
  
***  
  
"Of the many who competed in this tournament, now only two remain! The final match to determine the championship will be Mr. Satan vs. Vegeta Briefs! We'll have the exciting final round in ten minutes...don't you dare miss it!"  
  
***  
  
Gohan and Videl just stared at the television. Then, they burst into laughter.  



	24. Intermission III

As Vegeta walked back to the fighters' area, he had one of the biggest smirks on his face that any of the others had ever seen.  
  
"Alright Dad!" said Trunks, still excited. "You're going to the finals!"  
  
"That's right," said his father. "And I'm going to win. Quite easily, at that."  
  
"Gee," said Kakarot, "I didn't expect you to win."  
  
"Please. You of all people should know that power is far from the only factor in a fight, especially one with rules."  
  
Vegeta leaned against the wall. Mirai, on an impulse, ducked outside for a couple of minutes, then returned.  
  
He said, "I thought you might be interested to know that the odds are still running five-to-one against you."  
  
The king's only response was to snicker evilly.  
  
***  
  
In his private quarters, Mr. Satan was pacing nervously. He hadn't anticipated this. He had gambled everything on Buu being his opponent in the final round.  
  
He had apparently lost that gamble.  
  
From what he knew of Vegeta, he was a very serious fighter who expected no quarter and gave none. There would be no bargaining with him.  
  
He paced a few more minutes, until he saw that it was almost time. Then he straightened himself up, put on a confident expression, and started on his way to the ring.  
  
All martial artists knew how to handle losses, and he was no exception; not even his fighting record was perfect. If you lost, you accepted it and moved on.  
  
***  
  
Having finally recovered from their spasmodic bouts of laughter, Gohan and Videl were able to talk again.  
  
"Do we even need to watch this?" said Gohan. "Or can we just watch it on the news later?"  
  
"What, and miss seeing my dad get humiliated on live TV? No way!"  
  
***  
  
Outwardly, the Budokai Announcer kept up his look of professionalism. But inwardly he was cheering.  
  
He looked at his watch. It was time to begin.  
  
"Alright, martial arts fans! This has been one of the best Tenka'ichi Budokai's ever! The best fighters from the world over assembled here today, but now there's just two left! Only the best of the best make it this far, and here they are! Mr. Satan and Vegeta Briefs!"  
  
The two warriors walked into the ring. Time seemed to slow down.  
  
The predominent sound in the arena was the chant from the crowd of "MR. SATAN! MR. SATAN!" However, to his surprise, Vegeta could hear a small minority shouting out his name. And it wasn't just his family, but ordinary spectators. He didn't know if they actually liked him, if they just wanted to see Mr. Satan lose, or if they had simply placed bets on him, but they were cheering for him nevertheless. It felt oddly...good.  
  
He looked at his opponent. Mr. Satan. He was wearing his usual confident expression, but Vegeta knew that inside he was shaking.  
  
"Let the final round of the 26th Tenka'ichi Budokai...BEGIN!"  



	25. Final Round: Mr. Satan vs. Vegeta Brief...

Everyone who knew the truth about Vegeta was secretly half-expecting him to dash over to Mr. Satan and punch him out before the Announcer had even gotten to the second syllable of "begin."  
  
Instead, he simply walked over to the current champion.  
  
"I will give you ten blows on me that I will not attempt to block, defend, or counterattack against in any way. Once those are up, I will defeat you. Go."  
  
Mr. Satan's expression changed to one of utter panic. He struck a chop on the side of Vegeta's neck.  
  
"That's one."  
  
The human punched the Saiyan in the stomach rapidly four times, hurting his hand in the process.  
  
"Those were two through five. You'd better hope the last five are more effective."  
  
***  
  
"Amazing!" said the Budokai Announcer, faking the surprise in his voice. "Vegeta is merely standing there taking Mr. Satan's attacks!"  
  
***  
  
In the stands, Kuririn turned to face Yamcha.  
  
"Is it wrong to be enjoying this?" asked the smaller man.  
  
***  
  
Mr. Satan continued his futile assault with a kick to Vegeta's temple.  
  
"Six."  
  
He kneed him in the stomach.  
  
"Seven."  
  
He punched him twice, square in the face.  
  
"Eight and nine. Choose your final blow carefully."  
  
Mr. Satan leaned back, and pulled back his arm as far as he could.  
  
***  
  
"We saw this move in the finals of last Budokai," said the Announcer. "It's the Satan Special Ultra Super Megaton Punch, the technique he used to defeat Juuhachigou!"  
  
***  
  
His punch landed right in the center of Vegeta's forehead. He did not budge, which was his same reaction--or lack thereof--as to the first nine attacks.  
  
"And that was ten."  
  
"W-wait!" said Mr. Satan, his panic even more evident. "You can't do this! I helped you guys save the universe!"  
  
Vegeta grinned, nastily. "I know. That is why I am not going to give you any *serious* injuries." He cocked back his fist.  
  
"This is a little something I learned from my son." He punched his opponent in the face, quite lightly by his standards.  
  
Mr. Satan went hurtling through the air and into the arena wall. After a long moment, he slid to the ground.  
  
The ensuing silence was broken only by the sound of the Budokai Announcer's footsteps on the ring floor as he quickly walked over to the Saiyan, who had not moved from his position. When the Announcer reached him, he grabbed the king's arm and raised it high.  
  
"We have a winner and new champion, and his name is VEGETA BRIEFS!"  
  
Murmurs of shock rippled through the audience, occasionally contrasted with sounds of celebration; they probably originated from spectators who had bet large sums of money on the new champion and were finding it returned to them five times over.  
  
The Announcer let go of Vegeta's arm. He turned from to the crowd to him, only to find him already walking back to the fighters' area.  
  
He was about to follow the new champion, when his eye was caught by Mr. Satan, who was staggering to his feet. The Announcer headed over to him instead.  
  
"Mr. Satan! To what do you attribute your stunning defeat?"  
  
Recovered from neither the physical injury nor the shock of losing, the fighter still managed to put on a good face.  
  
"He found a way of countering many of my attacks, and I admit that I underestimated him. But just you wait! In three years, I'll regain my title!" He waved to the audience.  
  
***  
  
After hearing this proclamation, Gohan chuckled softly.  
  
"He hasn't learned at all," Videl said, half disgusted, half amused. "But at least the world's seen that he's not as invincible as he's made out to be."  
  
"Yes, there is that," replied Gohan, kissing her hair softly. Videl reached over and pushed the 'Off' button on the remote. And for the rest of the night, they thought no more of Vegeta, or of Mr. Satan, or of anything but each other.  
  
***  
  
The instant Vegeta stepped back into the fighters' area, Trunks leapt up to him and gave him a tight hug.  
  
"Dad! Dad! You did it!"  
  
Normally his father disapproved of this kind of behavior in public, and would have sharply reprimanded him with a few choice words, if not a light blow or two. However, Vegeta knew that the ridiculously soft public would see these actions as 'child abuse,' and he had no great desire to be thought of as the champion who abused his children. So instead, he merely pried Trunks off of him.  
  
"Yes, I did it. I have shown the world that I am truly the strongest under the heavens."  
  
"It's good to see that this has not affected your ego in any way," muttered Piccolo.  



	26. The Aftermath Begins

"Frankly, I didn't think Mr. Satan would lose," said Soumei, as he and the other two worked their way out of the stadium along with the rest of the crowd.  
  
"Especially to that guy," said Jinsoku. None of them had expected the short, pointy-haired guy to win.  
  
"But at least he did lose, there is that," said Karyuudo.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta had already begun to leave when the Budokai Announcer entered the fighters' area.  
  
"Mr. Briefs! Excuse me!"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Here's your prize money!" The Announcer caught up with him and handed him a large suitcase. Vegeta opened it. There was indeed lots of money.  
  
"That's ten million zeni in thousand zeni bills. Enjoy!"  
  
"I'm married to the world's richest woman. I don't need this."  
  
The Announcer shrugged. "Well, I'm sure you'll find a use for it. Congratulations, and see you in three years!" He walked out.  
  
Vegeta looked at the money for a moment more; it was in one hundred bunches, wrapped together. Each stack contained one hundred of the bills. It wasn't long before he decided what to do with it all.  
  
"Hey! Purple-haired brats!"  
  
Trunks and Mirai looked up at him, just in time to see a wrapped bunch headed towards each of their heads. They were startled, but both managed to catch their money.  
  
"I'm giving you an allowance bonus! CATCH!" said the Saiyan king, grinning wickedly.  
  
With that, Vegeta began an onslaught of the bunches, hurling them at his sons in rapid-fire fashion like a demented baseball pitcher. By the time he had thrown all of them, Trunks and Mirai had caught fifty each, which they were desperately trying to hold onto without dropping.  
  
Simply dropping and leaving the suitcase, Vegeta walked to the exit, the others trailing. As he reached the exit, he found his forward progress blocked by a crowd of reporters with microphones and video cameras.  
  
"Mr. Briefs," said one of them, "Would you please give us a statement?"  
  
"Certainly." He extended his palm, pointed it at the crowd, and charged up a ki blast. "I state that if you don't get out of my way, I'll blast you all into oblivion."  
  
"You're bluffing."  
  
"Try me."  
  
There was a long moment's pause, then the reporters parted to let him and the others through. He was indeed bluffing--if he did kill them Bulma would be very mad--but they didn't have to know that.  
  
As he deactivated the blast and continued onwards, his attention was soon caught by something else.  
  
"YOU WON!"  
  
Bulma was sprinting as fast as she could. When she reached him, she yanked him towards her and gave him a passionate kiss.  
  
When she had finished, the first thing he noticed was that the reporters had caught the whole thing on film. The second thing he'd noticed was that the other full-blooded Saiyans had arrived in time to see it.  
  
If there was one thing he disliked more than public embarassment, it was public embarassment in front of his subjects.  
  
***  
  
Vegeta wasn't normally one to indulge in many luxuries. However, today's fights had taken much of his energy. So after he showered off, he decided that getting some sleep wouldn't be such a bad idea, and it could probably be allowed.  
  
Of course, when Saiyans do something, they do it large.  
  
***  
  
He awoke to see that it was two hours after he had fallen asleep; that was longer than he had intended. Cursing himself, he rose and decided to head to the kitchen.  
  
As he reached the door into the hallway, he paused, and walked back several steps.  
  
The small calendar on one of the chest's read May 9.  
  
The tournament had been held on May 7.  
  
By Kami-sama, had he slept for two days? Or was this simply one of Trunks's pranks?  
  
He marched into the main gathering room, where he found the rest of the Capsule Corporation population clustered around the television.  
  
"Did you fools really let me sleep for two whole days?!"  
  
"Yep," replied Bulma. "Now come sit down and watch this."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's supposed to be some documentary about you. Apparently they managed to put one together in two days. We're recording it, too, just in case you hadn't woken up. Now hurry up and sit down, it's about to start."  
  
Taking a seat, Vegeta knew that he would regret this.  



	27. Who Is Vegeta Briefs?

As the last of the commercials faded away, the screen displayed a man in a business suit and glasses on a dim soundstage. He was facing the camera.  
  
"Hello. I'm Tetsu Gobun. Thank you for joining me. Tonight, we'll be taking a look at the newest world champion of martial arts. Just who is this man of mystery who stunned the world by defeating Mr. Satan? See the results of our investigation, starting now."  
  
In a curvy, stylized font, the words "Who Is Vegeta Briefs?" appeared superimposed over the image of Tetsu Gobun. They soon disappeared, to be replaced with "Produced by Moudan Iyashinbou." Then came "Directed by Kiza Boukun."  
  
When those words dissolved, Tetsu Gobun began to walk around the empty soundstage as he talked. "Where to begin with a man such as this? Well, perhaps the best place to start is the beginning. That is, his childhood. Unfortunately, not much is known about his formative years, but we have been able to piece together some information with the help of several individuals near and dear to him."  
  
The screen switched over to a shot of Mrs. Briefs. Tetsu Gobun's voice played over it. "This is his mother-in-law. According to her, Vegeta and his father were very close."  
  
His voice stopped, and the Mrs. Briefs onscreen began to talk. "From what I understand, they loved each other very much. He referred to his father as 'the king' and his father called him 'prince,' isn't that adorable? I've never heard him speak about his mother, though."  
  
Now the display onscreen was a still picture of Vegeta that had been taken during a formal Capsule Corporation event last year. "Despite the love and care of his father," Tetsu Gobun's voiceover continued, "His childhood years were not easy."  
  
The screen switched to a display of Turles. "This is Turles, one of Vegeta's childhood friends. According to him, both he and Vegeta, as well as several other individuals--all of whom are currently living at Capsule Corporation--belonged to a gang."  
  
"Yes," said Turles, "We were all Saiyans. There was Prince Vegeta, and me, and Broli, and Raditz, and Nappa, and Bardock, and Kakarot--whom you know better as Son Goku. There were many more, but of course they were all killed during the slaughter of Vegetasei by Freeza. Vegeta's father, the King, was killed too, naturally."  
  
The scene now switched to an inner-city ghetto. "The use of the terms prince and king by his friends as well seems to indicate that Vegeta was the leader of this gang called the Saiyans. From Turles's description, the Saiyans appear to have been quite a large gang. However, this even more mysterious person known only as 'Freeza,' perhaps the leader of a rival gang seems to have been behind a bloody mass murder which resulted in the deaths of all the others save for those listed by Turles. Apparently out of spite, this Freeza also killed, or ordered to be killed, Vegeta's father. We talked to another of the surviving Saiyans, Raditz, about it."  
  
Now Raditz was onscreen. "Freeza did the vast majority of it, that short white bastard. Some of his followers helped too, like that fat pink bastard Dodoria or that prettyboy green bastard Zarbon, but most of it was Freeza's doing."  
  
The screen now displayed the Son family house in the mountains. "This is where Son Goku, called Kakarot by his Saiyan friends, now lives with his wife Chi-Chi, youngest son Goten, father-in-law Gyu-Mao, and--quite interestingly--his father Bardock, who was also a Saiyan. From what we've gathered, both Bardock and Nappa appear to be many years older than Vegeta. That they allowed him to be the head of the gang attests to his fighting skills at even that age."  
  
Appearing onscreen was a certain spiky-haired fighter. "Here's Son Goku himself, on what he can remember about being a Saiyan."  
  
"Yeah, Kakarot's my Saiyan name. They all still call me that," he said, chuckling. "I don't remember where exactly Vegetasei is, but you have to understand that I was very young the last time I was there, that was before I even met Bulma."  
  
The ghetto returned to the screen. "Although none of the other Saiyans would reveal where Vegetasei--probably a nickname for a neighborhood of a large city--was, we believe that we know enough about it to present this recreation of the Vegetasei massacre."  
  
A group of about thirty or so individuals entered the alley onscreen. Most were teenagers, wearing what was in fashion among the rebellious youths of thirty-odd years ago. There were, however, a few adults.  
  
At the head of the pack was a teenager with pointy-hair, obviously intended to be Vegeta. It was easy to pick out the ones who represented Raditz, Nappa, Bardock, Kakarot, Turles, and Broli. Suddenly there was a loud bang and one of the others collapsed to the ground. The gang whirled to see three other teenagers standing behind them holding guns. One was short with white hair, one was rotund with hair dyed pink, and the last was tall and thin with flowing green hair.  
  
As the gang tried to flee, the others kept firing until most of the Saiyans had fallen, with the survivors having managed to escape through the other end of the alley.  
  
"Freeza and his thugs met their own horrible fates years later, according to Vegeta's oldest son, Mirai."  
  
The young man with long purple hair appeared. "My father says that he killed Dodoria and Zarbon about eighteen years ago or so. As for Freeza, I took care of him myself. Freeza and his own father showed up looking for revenge about fifteen years ago. They tried to kill us all, but I managed to take care of them instead."  
  
The scene now returned to Tetsu Gobun on his dim soundstage. "After the Vegetasei massacre, the surviving Saiyans drifted apart. Son Goku trained under the great martial arts master Kamesen'nin and went on to become one of the world's foremost martial arts practitioners. The others refused to discuss their past. And as for Vegeta himself, he seems to have disappeared until approximately sixteen years ago, when he moved into the headquarters of Capsule Corporation. Over the next several years, he and the Capsule heiress, Bulma Briefs, fell in love with one another and had a second child, Trunks. We spoke to Bulma's old boyfriend, Yamcha, who--surprisingly--lives in Capsule Corporation today."  
  
The scarred ex-bandit looked angry. "No, I will not tell you anything about how this situation came about. I will not tell you how or why Bulma and I broke up. I will not tell you how or why the two of them got together. All three of us were hurt in various ways and in varying degrees when all that was going on. We've all agreed--which is very rare for us--to never discuss those events with anyone else."  
  
The display shifted to a picture of Mirai and Trunks battling it out at the just completed Tenka'ichi Budokai. "There is one question that remains unanswered. At the time Mirai was supposedly born, Bulma was still attached to Yamcha. However, everyone involved agrees that Mirai is the son of Bulma and Vegeta. Did she perhaps meet him and have a brief romantic fling, resulting in their first son? When we asked Mirai if he knew the circumstances surrounding his birth, he simply told us, 'That's your job to find out, you're the reporters.' His younger brother was no more helpful."  
  
Now Trunks was onscreen. "All right, I admit it, Mirai and I are the same person, just alternate timeline deviates of each other." He rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't know how he was born!"  
  
The new display was a picture of Vegeta, Mirai, and Trunks that Bulma had had taken by the Capsule Corporation's public relations department. "The far past of Vegeta may be shrouded in mystery, but more recent events are well in the spotlight. It is believed that both he and Mirai were two of the participants in the Cell Games. Trunks won the Junior Division of the 25th Budokai. Vegeta himself was a participant in that, although with all the mass confusion at that one he never got to actually fight. And of course, all three entered the 26th Budokai, with Vegeta taking the championship."  
  
It went back to Tetsu Gobun and his soundstage. "With all we don't know about him, what DO we know? We know he's a loyal friend, a loving husband, a caring father...and of course, a superb martial artist. Thank you for watching, and goodnight." The end credits began to roll.  
  
There was a complete and utter silence for a moment as the residents of Capsule Corporation tried to digest what they had just seen. Then, one by one, they all burst into outrageous laughter.  
  
All except for Vegeta, who sat unmoving in his chair, jaw agape.  



	28. Shine A Little Love

"That was the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've ever seen," said Mirai, wiping the tears from his eyes as everyone managed to stop laughing.  
  
Vegeta finally regained control of his motor functions.  
  
"They made a mockery of my life!" he shouted. "The Saiyans are the mightiest warrior race in the universe, and they turned them into a common street gang!"  
  
"And that's different HOW from what you really were?" asked Yamcha as he got his breath back. Ignoring the insult to his species, Vegeta continued ranting.  
  
Meanwhile, the phone in the kitchen rang. Trunks darted off to answer it as the others amused themselves by listening to the diatribe.  
  
"Brother, phone call!"  
  
Surprise showed on Mirai's face as he rose from his seat on the floor and headed to the kitchen. Trunks passed him going the other way, not wanting to miss any more of his dad's tirade.  
  
The young man picked up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi Mirai. This is Jennifer. From the Budokai, remember?"  
  
He felt guilty as he realized that he'd almost entirely forgotten about her. "Of course I remember you! Whatcha need?"  
  
"Sorry I didn't call you yesterday like I said I would. Anyway, I was just wondering where you'd like to go for our date tomorrow night."  
  
"Oh, it doesn't matter to me. You pick the place."  
  
"Alright then. Just come pick me up at, say, six o'clock?"  
  
"Sure. What's your address?" She told him where she lived and he scribbled it down on a handy piece of paper.  
  
"OK, I'll be there at six. See you then."  
  
"Yep! Bye!"  
  
After he hung up the phone, Mirai walked back to join the others and braced himself to say something he never thought he'd have to.  
  
"Mom, I need to borrow the car tomorrow night."  
  
"Sure," said Bulma, not really paying attention. She was having too much fun listening to Vegeta.  
  
Yamcha, however, did hear. "Got a date with that girl?"  
  
"Yeah," he replied, blushing slightly.  
  
"Good, that makes two of us."  
  
"You have a DATE, Yamcha-san?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm taking Pu'ar out." The shapeshifter herself had quickly grown tired of Vegeta's ranting and had retired to the bedroom she shared with the ex-bandit.  
  
Now this Bulma *did* hear. Yamcha and Pu'ar had been friends even before Bulma had met them, and that was decades ago. While she was glad to hear he had apparently rebounded quickly from his breakup with Maron, she was a little worried. Either this would turn out to be one of the best things he ever did, or another terrible event to add on to the string of them that seemed to represent his life over the last few years.  
  
She prayed it was the former. If something went wrong involving Pu'ar, she wasn't sure that even the normally happy-go-lucky fighter could recover from that.  
  
Broli rose to his feet. "Well, it's been a long day, I believe I shall seek refreshment in repose." He walked by Vegeta. "I shall see you in the morning, 'loyal friend.' Good night." As he left, he tried to hide his laughter.  
  
Bulma got up as well. "I'm gonna go to bed too. See you in a few minutes, 'loving husband' of mine." She was snickering.  
  
"I'd better get some sleep for my big day tomorrow," said Mirai, clapping his father on the back. "Sleep well, 'caring father.'" Even he could barely keep a straight face saying that.  
  
***  
  
The next day, a group of reporters showed up outside of Capsule Corporation. One of them pressed the intercom at the door.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"We'd like to talk to Mr. Briefs, please."  
  
"One moment, let me go tell him."  
  
A minute later, one of the upper windows opened and the world champion leaned out. "What the hell do you want?"  
  
"We'd like to interview you, sir."  
  
"NO! Now get off my lawn!"  
  
"Or what?" asked one reporter whom Vegeta recognized as Tetsu Gobun, from last night's supposed documentary.  
  
"Or THIS!" Vegeta hurled a ki blast directly at the man, who closed his eyes and waited for his impending death.  
  
He opened them again a few minutes later, surprised to be alive. Then he noticed what Vegeta had done.  
  
Practically all of Tetsu Gobun's clothes had been burned off.  
  
"Be glad the woman's around or I would have destroyed you," growled the Saiyan. "And I WILL destroy all of you if you come back again! Now depart!"  
  
They departed.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the day passed without incident until four o' clock, when Mirai approached Yamcha.  
  
"You have to help me. I don't know what to do!"  
  
"Hm. Never been on a date before?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Ok. First of all, be your usual polite self. Girls like that. And be sure to compliment them on their looks."  
  
"Alright..."  
  
"Don't talk too much about yourself unless they ask you to tell them about yourself. Try and keep the conversation focused either on them or on something neutral."  
  
"Sounds kinda hard."  
  
"Don't worry, it's easier than it sounds. And she'll probably sense that you don't have much experience in this area, so she'll cut you some slack."  
  
He continued to give out some tips for several minutes.  
  
"Well," he concluded, "That should be all you need to know for a first date. I'm sure you'll do fine."  
  
"Thanks." Mirai walked out, then returned again.  
  
"I forgot something!"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What do I wear?!"  
  
***  
  
At five-thirty, Mirai activated the capsule car and drove to the address that Jennifer had given him. When he arrived, he parked on the side of the road and walked up the door.  
  
He hadn't even had time to knock before the door opened to reveal Jennifer. She was wearing an absolutely stunning red dress that went spectacularly with her hair.  
  
"I'm ready to go," she said in those same tones of innocent yet sultry. Mirai managed to reply.  
  
"O-Ok."  
  
***  
  
"Ready to go, Pu'ar?" yelled Yamcha up the stairs.  
  
"Ready!" She walked down, having shifted into the form of a beautiful human woman who was almost everything Yamcha could ask for.  
  
"Gee, you look great," he said, awed. For a brief moment he felt as if he'd reverted back to his old girl-shy ways.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Yamcha opened the door and escorted her out to the car.  
  
***  
  
The conversation during the ride to the restaurant that she had chosen was filled mainly with small talk about how each other's day had gone.  
  
When they got there, Mirai zipped around to open the car door for her. Then he walked a step ahead and got the restaurant door for her as well.  
  
"Ah, a true gentleman, I see. Don't get many of those nowadays." She smiled at him. True to tradition, he blushed.  
  
The restaurant wasn't very crowded, so they got taken to a table immediately. After looking over their menus and deciding what to have, they began to talk.  
  
"So, Jennifer, why don't you tell me about yourself?"  
  
"Alright, where to begin?"  
  
She began by telling him about her job as a lawyer ("so if you try to make me pay for the whole meal, I'll sue you for all you're worth"), then moved on to her family, and eventually her interests.  
  
The waiter showed up and took their orders, then returned to the kitchen.  
  
"Well, I've babbled on enough. Tell me about you."  
  
Mirai began to sweat. He'd asked Yamcha what to do if she asked about his past, and he'd said to go ahead and tell the truth about his half-alien heritage. If she accepted him, fine; if she rejected him, she was a bigot not worth dating.  
  
"OK," he said, adjusting his collar, "This is gonna be a little hard to believe..."  
  
***  
  
As they drove to the restaurant, Yamcha and Pu'ar chatted about life in general.  
  
Upon parking, he helped her out of the car and they walked through the door. The restaurant was pretty crowded tonight, but fortunately a table had just opened up and they were seated at it almost as soon as they walked in the door.  
  
After choosing their meals, they felt rather embarrassed. Two old friends going out on a date are usually very awkward, and this was no exception. There was a whole minute of tense silence.  
  
"So," Pu'ar finally said to break the silence, "That documentary sure was something else, huh?"  
  
It was enough. They began talking about the documentary, and from there were able to branch off to all kinds of subjects.  
  
When the food arrived, Yamcha chose that moment to broach a question he'd been wondering about for the last several days.  
  
"Pu'ar," he said hesitantly, "Last week when you said you'd secretly loved me for a while...well, just how long?"  
  
***  
  
"...and so I came back to this timeline to live with this version of my parents," said Mirai, concluding his long exposition of his past. "There you have it."  
  
The food arrived in the middle of his recollection, but Jennifer hadn't touched it. She had simply sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face.  
  
"Well, you're right, that is hard to believe," she managed to say. Her expression grew hostile.  
  
"I can prove it," said Mirai hastily.  
  
"OK, let's see it."  
  
"Not in here, we'll have to go outside." He motioned the waiter over and told him that they'd have to leave for a moment, but that they'd be back and not to touch their food.  
  
They stepped into the parking lot. Theirs was the only car there.  
  
"Now show me the proof," she said skeptically.  
  
Mirai closed his eyes and concentrated. A moment later, his hair had turned into spikes that glowed golden. When he opened his eyes, the irises--normally blue--had turned green.  
  
"This is what a Super Saiyan looks like, that I was telling you about." He returned to his normal state.  
  
"I'll accept that," said Jennifer, a pragmatist if there ever was one.  
  
"I hope this doesn't bother you." He felt like he'd embarassed her by having to prove her wrong on a first date.  
  
"Not at all. So your father's an alien. Big deal. Some of the people I see in court don't seem totally human either, and at least you're a lot nicer than they are."  
  
He sighed with relief. "Thanks."  
  
"Now let's go back in and eat. I can't wait to find out more about you."  
  
***  
  
Pu'ar swivelled her eyes downward and clasped her hands together. "Ever since we were thieves out in the desert," she whispered.  
  
Yamcha nearly choked on his drink. "WHAT?! EVER SINCE THEN?!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That's been more than twenty years! Why didn't you tell me?!"  
  
"Well, back then I didn't want you to think I was weak by having feelings for you. Then after that you and Bulma were together for years, and whenever you had a fight or something I knew it wouldn't last so I knew I shouldn't say anything. And then you finally did break things off eventually, and you were--well--such a mess I thought you needed some time by yourself to straighten everything out. And after you *had* straightened yourself out, you started to see other girls, and I didn't want to mess those up either." Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.  
  
Yamcha sat back in his seat, stunned. He'd be the first to tell you that he'd had plenty of romantic problems over the years. But compared to this...! Hell, even in the worst of times, at least he'd been able to have his feelings out in the open.  
  
Not really knowing what to do, he grasped one of her hands. "Pu'ar," he said gently, "If that's true, you're not weak. You're one of the strongest people I know. I couldn't have handled that. Even back in the desert, I wouldn't have thought so. My goal back then was to get married, remember? And after that, you should have told me how you felt no matter what. Then at least it would have been out in the open."  
  
Using his other hand, Yamcha scratched the top of her head. During those few occasions when she'd been openly down about something, he'd done this while she was in her base state of a cat, and it had helped cheer her up. He hoped it would work on her now.  
  
It seemed to. She wiped the tears from her eyes, then looked at him.  
  
And then he felt it. It was something he'd felt only once before in his life, and it had also involved eye contact.  
  
It had been the morning after they, Goku, Bulma, and Oolong had foiled Emperor Pilaf's plan to conquer the world. He and Bulma had looked into each other's eyes, and things had changed. The day before she had been an obstacle preventing him from obtaining the Dragonballs, but with that look he had fallen in love with her.  
  
The same thing had just happened again.  
  
He leaned in close. "We've been friends for a very long time now. Well, I've just decided...perhaps we can be something more."  
  
Straining to catch his very soft words, she leaned forward as well. Once she'd heard what he'd said, she grinned widely, and began to cry again, though the tears were of a decidedly different nature this time.  
  
Yamcha wiped them away with a finger. And then something--maybe fate, maybe gravity, maybe some subconscious part of their brains--compelled the two of them to lean a little bit more. When they did so, their lips came together in a kiss.  
  
They stayed that way for a moment or two, then separated.  
  
The restaurant broke out into applause, and they blushed.  
  
***  
  
The rest of the dinner with Jennifer went spectacularly well. They talked throughout the rest of the meal, learning a lot about one another and enjoying each other's company.  
  
The highlight of the night came when the date was over. They'd arrived back at Jennifer's house and were standing on her doorstep.  
  
"Thanks for a great evening," he said.  
  
"Oh no. Thank you." Then she gave him a small peck on the cheek. As he began to flush rapidly, she winked at him and went inside.  
  
Blushing all the way, but smiling as well, he walked back to the car and drove home.  
  
"Have a good night?" Bulma asked as he walked in. Then she looked at him. "Never mind, you obviously did." She gave him a grin.  
  
Puzzled, he went back to his room. Then he caught his reflection in the mirror. There was a lipstick smear on his cheek.  
  
He turned a redder shade of crimson.  
  
***  
  
Yamcha and Pu'ar returned a few minutes later. They didn't even see Bulma.  
  
Bulma, who did see them, was immensely relieved to see them smiling, holding hands, and looking at each other in certain ways.  
  
Vegeta, who was getting one of many snacks, walked in from the kitchen in time to see them as well.  
  
"Good," he said once they left the room, "Maybe now he won't be so damned melancholy."  



	29. Conclusions And Commencements

The next morning, Yamcha awoke; Pu'ar was still asleep. He pulled the covers back over her and walked to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He got some breakfast and sat down at the table, where most of the others already were.  
  
"The two of you had a good night, I hope," said Bulma.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"And a good time after that, I also hope," she said, winking at him.  
  
"Nope," he said calmly. He'd expected that the others would expect the two of them to fully enjoy each other's company.  
  
The others had, however, thought wrong. There were two reasons.  
  
First off, the two of them had shared a bed for years, in nothing but the literal sense; in their desert hideout it was out of necessity, as there was room for only one bed. Later he'd been sleeping with Bulma in *both* senses of the word, but whenever they were having a fight and he had to use a different bed, Pu'ar was there. It was part unconscious old habit and part desire to have another warm body in there. And after the final split, having her there had helped a bit. Simply, it was too soon to get involved on the next level; they hadn't been together romantically long enough for it to seem normal.  
  
The time factor played a role in another way, as well. As noted, they'd been friends for a very long time, but in love for a much shorter time, and it was too soon to tell whether or not it would work, and he'd rather get killed again than end up hurting her. That was the other reason.  
  
Not that he was telling the others any of this. They'd simply have to be content with "Nope."  
  
***  
  
A week passed without notable incident. The reporters had apparently learned to steer clear of Capsule Corporation. With the money that Vegeta had quite literally tossed his way, Trunks had taken Goten on a shopping spree at their favorite toy store. They'd bought so much that some of the clerks at the store had to help them carry it all back to their homes. Mirai, meanwhile, had donated most of his to charity, though he had kept some of it.  
  
Then, the big day arrived--the wedding of Raditz and Iroke. It was largely a formality, done mostly just to give some legitimacy to their child who would be arriving several months from now.  
  
Compared to the extravaganza that had been Gohan and Videl's wedding, this one was a minor, low-key affair. Raditz, naturally, didn't have many people to invite. As it turned out, neither did Iroke; her parents had died years ago and many of her friends didn't agree with her choice of husband.  
  
There ended up being less than two dozen people in attendace. Raditz's "Best Man" was Goku, for the simple reason that no one else would do it.  
  
***  
  
The next day, Gohan and Videl returned from their honeymoon. After unpacking everything, they visited their parents.  
  
First they went to see Goku and Chi-Chi. After they knocked on the door, Gohan's father answered.  
  
"Hey! You guys have a good time?" After they replied in the affirmative, Goku turned and faced inside the house. "Chi-Chi! Look who's back!"  
  
As Chi-Chi emerged, the young couple prepared themselves for the forthcoming burst of rage.  
  
It never happened. Instead she grinned.  
  
"Well, it's nice to see you! I'm just about done fixing supper. Care to join us?"  
  
Gohan and Videl quickly exchanged puzzled glances, then nodded.  
  
"Good, good. It won't be too long. Have a seat."  
  
They had barely sat down at the table when Goten came hurtling into the room, yelling, "Brother! Brother!" at the top of his lungs.  
  
Gohan smiled as Goten gave him an enormous hug. "Hey there. How are ya?"  
  
"I'm fine! Lemme show you all the stuff Trunks helped me buy!"  
  
"After supper, OK?"  
  
"OK!"  
  
It was at this time that the food was ready. Chi-Chi set down the succulent entrees, and pulled up a couple of extra chairs. After bowing their heads for a moment, the Son family began to eat.  
  
"So," said Chi-Chi after a moment, "Tell me all about the honeymoon."  
  
Omitting some details that they decided she probably wouldn't want to hear--and which Goten wasn't old enough to hear anyway--they told her. They told her how they had toured the city they were staying in, and how the whole time they had been mobbed by fans wanting Videl's autograph. They told her how one day they had boarded the Kin'toun and simply flown all over the world, taking in the sights of the whole planet. And so on.  
  
By the time they had finished telling their story, all of them had also finished dinner.  
  
"Well, we'd better get going," said Videl. "We need to go see my dad."  
  
"I just need to see Goten's toy collection first," said Gohan, chuckling.  
  
The couple followed the ten year-old back to his room...and paused in astonishment. Toys were stacked around his bed in stacks so high that one would have to levitate to get above them.  
  
***  
  
After saying goodbye to Goku, Chi-Chi, and Goten, the two of them headed over to Mr. Satan's mansion. When they arrived, they rang the doorbell. A few seconds later Mr. Satan's butler opened the door.  
  
"Ah, Miss Videl, Master Gohan. I shall see if Mr. Satan is here."  
  
They waited on the doorstep for a few moments as the butler headed back into the house. He reappeared soon.  
  
"He is in, and he wishes to speak to you. This way, please."  
  
They followed the distinguished looking man down a hallway. The butler opened the door at the end of the hall and motioned them through.  
  
Mr. Satan was standing and facing the door, apparently awaiting them. After the butler had left, the former champion smiled widely and gave them both a large hug.  
  
"Take a seat. Did you have a good time?"  
  
They nodded, and told him practically the same story they'd told the others. Afterwards, Videl lied through her teeth and said, "I'm sorry you lost, Dad."  
  
He also lied. "Well, that's OK. Now maybe I can finally step out of the limelight and relax some. And I'll probably be able to visit you more, which is good."  
  
They talked for a few minutes. Then the couple rose, gave Mr. Satan another hug, and departed.  
  
***  
  
Five more months passed. Vegeta had reached the status of a folk hero among most of the public, much like Mr. Satan. The incredibly erroneous documentary was now a bestselling video, a fact which enraged the Saiyan king.  
  
Mirai had been out on several more dates with Jennifer, and had enjoyed all of them. They'd become good friends.  
  
As for Yamcha and Pu'ar...  
  
***  
  
"This is a really nice place," said Pu'ar as she and Yamcha took their seats.  
  
"Well, it's our tenth date, so I decided it should be someplace special." The restaurant was indeed very nice; it even had a formal dress code.  
  
They had a nice meal. When they were almost done, Yamcha suddenly dropped to the floor.  
  
"Something wrong?" asked the shapeshifter.  
  
"Hang on...I just dropped something," replied the ex-bandit.  
  
"Found it!" he said suddenly, a few moments later.  
  
"What were you looking for?"  
  
"This."  
  
And he held up a diamond ring.  
  
"Pu'ar...will you marry me?"  
  
She was shocked into silence, and simply sat there for a long moment. He began to get nervous. Beads of sweat formed on his brow. She couldn't *possibly* say no, right? If she did, he didn't know what he would do.  
  
"Well...what can I say..."  
  
His heart sank faster than a rock on Kaio-sama's planet. She *was* saying no.  
  
"Of course I will!"  
  
It suddenly shot the other direction. He hadn't felt this good since...  
  
He'd NEVER felt this good.  
  
***  
  
"How was the date?" Bulma asked automatically as she heard the door open, then close, behind her. There wasn't an answer, so she turned around to look.  
  
She surveyed the situation in a flash, and quick as the lightning she had them both in a tight embrace. No words were said; none were required.  
  
"Well."  
  
It was Vegeta, who had just entered the room. "I suppose congratulations are in order. So...now are you two going to get around to it?"  
  
The only things that kept Yamcha from slamming him into the wall were Bulma's hug and his own self-preservation mechanism.  
  
Instead, he merely developed a smirk as large as any that Vegeta had ever worn.  
  
END  
  
Well, there you have it. Much longer than I expected, but there you have it. "Tourney Nights" is over. Please be sure to leave a review and tell me what you thought.  
  
This looks like a nice place to end the Royalty Series. I've got everyone set up with a happy ending.  
  
Heh. Heh. Heh.  
  
An eclipse has the most effect when the sun is brightest.  
  
This is the end of the first part of the Royalty Series, "Positioning The Pieces." Now that everyone's in place where I want them...the universe-shattering threats can come.  
  
But don't think they'll suddenly turn dark and gloomy. Oh no. I'll still keep the humor on which these last stories have been based, it'll just be mixed with life-and-death fights.  
  
The battles to save all of existence begin next time. Be on the lookout for "The White King And The Black King," the first story in the second part of the Royalty Series, "The Darkness Within."  
  
In the meantime, I'll be rewriting these first few stories, fixing any continuity gaffes I've made.  
  
And after that...let the ACTION start. But of course, action is no fun without amusement. And you, Faithful Reader, will get both.  
  
See you soon,  
-Thanos6  



End file.
